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1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

■  I 


;v 
i '  '' 


Irish  in  America. 


BY 


^1 


JOHxT  FRANCIS  MAGUIRE,  M.   P., 


AfJraOR  OP  "nOME  AND  ITS  RULKR  ;"  "FATHER  MATHEW,  A  BIOaRAPlIY  ;"  ETC. 


I8i- 

1 C-  M  (  3 

!^7b 

FOURTH  EDITION. 

1  i  oo       ^  5h  3     ^  / 

Oo 

NETV    YORK.: 
D.   &  J.   SADLIER   &  CO..  31  BARCLAY  STREET 

MONTREAL: 

CORNER  NOTRE-DAME   AND  ST.   FRANCIS  XAVIER  STREETS. 

1873. 

3 


3  2  S.  2^1^ 


To  the  IRISH  IN  AMERICA,— 
who,    devoted    citizens    of   that    great    country    which    has 
afforded  an  asylum  and  given  a  home  to  millions  of 
their  race,  cherish  a  fond  attachment  to  the 
dear  old  land  of  their  birth  and  their 
fathers,  and  reflect  credit  upon 
it    by    their    virtues, — 
this     volume     is 
dedicated 


br 


THE  AUTHOR. 


■1 


ill^b 


PEEF  A.CE. 


MORE  tliau  one  motive  infliiouccd  me  in  the  desire  to 
visit  America,  and  record  the  results  of  ray  impres- 
sions in  a  published  form. 

I  desired  to  ascertain  by  personal  observation  what  the 
Irish— thousands  of  whom  were  constantly  emig-rating, 
as  it  were,  from  my  very  door— were  doing  in  America ; 
and  that  desire,  to  see  with  my  own  eyes,  and  judge  with 
my  own  mind,  was  stimulated  by  the  conflicting  and  con- 
tradictory accounts  which  reached  home  through  various 
channels  and  sources  of  information,  some  friendly,  more 
hostile. 

I  was  desirous  of  understanding  practically  the  true 
value  of  man's  labour  and  industry,  as  applied  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  development  of  a  country. 
It  has  been  so  much  the  fashion  of  the  day,  either  to 
palliate  or  excuse  even  the  most  grievous  wrong  done  to 
the  poor  and  the  defenceless  on  the  plea  that  in  conse- 
quence of  their  'want  of  capital'  nothing  could  be  hoped 
from  them  in  their  own  country,  and  that  emigration  to 
another  country  was  their  only  resource ;  or  to  despair 
of  any  material  improvement  in  the  condition  and  circum- 


VI 


r  R  E  r  A  c  K . 


.staricoH  of  Ireland  until  'cjipilur— moaning   l)ullion   or 
linnlv-|»n|mi*     wuh  by  sonu;  nuMuiH  or  other  inlroducod,  and 
applied  to  her  soil,  (hat,  I  dotorniined  to  test  this    pro- 
liletn,  or  laliaey,  by  visiting  settlements  actually  in  their 
inlaney,  thus  going  to  the  very  commoneement.,  and  .seeing 
how  the  liist  diflienltieH  were  overcome,  and  how  pi-ogrcss 
was  gradually  elVeeted.     I  have  in  more  than  one  instanco 
given  the  result  of  my  own  observation  in  this  respect; 
and    where  I  had   not   the  opportunity  of  judging   for 
myself,   1   have   relied  on  the  accounts  given  to  mo   by 
persons  both  intelligent  and  trustworthy.     In  whatever 
prominence  I  have  given  to  this  subject,  I  had  another 
and  tlistinct  [)uiposo  in   view — to  combat,  by  argument 
and  illustration,  a  sad  error  into  which,  from  many  causes 
and  motives,  the  Irish  arc  unhappily  betrayed ;'  that  of 
not  selecting  the  right  place  for  their  special  industry — 
of  the  Irish  })easant  lingering  in  the  city  until  he  becomes 
merged  in  its  popuhition.  and  his  legitimate  prospects  of 
a  future  of  honour  and  independence  are  lost  to  him  for 
ever.     Ami  to  this  portion  of  the  volume  1  earnestly  im- 
plore the  attention  of  those  by  whom  advice  may  be  use- 
fully given  or  inllucnce  successfully  exerted,  so  that  its 
lesson  may  be  urged  upon  such  as  have  still  the  choice  of 
a  future  before  them. 

I  desired  to  learn  if,  as  had  been  confidently  and 
repeatedly  asserted,  Irish  Catholics  lost  their  faith,  or 
became  indiftercnt  to  religion,  the  moment  they  landed  in 
.Vmerica :  or  whether,  as  it  had  been  asserted  in  their 
lefonce,  they  were  at  once  the  pioneers  and  the  pillars  of 


PREFAOl:. 


vn 


ullioii  or 
need,  and 
this  pro- 
ill  illCMl" 
11(1  HOCillJ^ 

progress 
I  inatiinco 
respect ; 
giiig   for 
0  mo   by 
whatever 
another 
irguniciit 
\y  causes 
■  that  of 
d  us  try — 
becomes 
pcctp  of 
him  for 
estly  ini- 
r  be  use- 
that  its 
loice  of 

itly  and 
faith,  or 
iided  in 
in  their 
liars  of 


tliclr  fiiith.     In  this  enquiry  I  was  mainly  influenced  by 

the  convictijn  that  loss  of  faith    or    indilferonco    to    re- 

li.i2:ion  would  be  the  most  terribh;   of  all    ealumitira    to 

Irish  Catliolics;  that  the  necessary   result   of   tiuit   losg 

of  failh  or  that  indilTereuco  to  reli«,non   would    1)0   fatal 

to  their  material  i)r()«,n'ess,  would   disastrously    interfero 

with  the  proper  pcrfornuiuce  of  their  duties  as  citizens, 

and    would    bo    certain    to    turn    the   public  opinion  of 

America  against  them.      I  have  devoted  a  considerable 

portion  of  the  following  pages  to  this  vital  sul>ject,  and 

given    rather   an    elaborate   sketch   of  the    history  and 

progress   of  the    Catholic  Church    of  America— of  that 

institution   by    which,  humanly  speaking,  the  education, 

the   character,    the   conduct,   the   material    welfare   and 

social   position   of  the   Irish  and  their  descendants  aro 

and   nmst   be   profoundly   influenced.      And,  indeed,  in 

giving   a    history   of   the   growth   and   progress    of  tho 

Catholic  Church  I  was  representing    the    struggles  and 

the  diflicultics  of  the  Irish  emigrant   or   settler   of  tho 

present  century. 

I  was  also  anxious  to  ascertain  the  real  nature,  that 
is  the  strength  or  the  intensity,  of  the  sentiment  which 
I  had  reason  to  believe  was  entertained  by  the  Irish 
in  the  United  States  towards  the  British  Government; 
as  I  considered,  and  I  hold  rightly,  that  the  existence 
of  a  strong  sentiment  or  feeling  of  hostility  is  a  far 
more  serious  cause  of  danger,  in  case  of  future  misun- 
derstanding or  complication,  than  any  organisation, 
however   apparent!/   extensive   or   formidable.      I  have 


▼Ui 


PR  EPA  0  E. 


given  tho  results  of  my  impressions  and  information 
freely  and  without  disguise.  Wliat  I  have  stated  will 
necessarily  be  judged  of  from  different  points  of  view  ; 
but  of  this  I  feel  certain,  tliat  did  I  not  write  what  I 
know  to  be  the  truth,  I  should  not  bo  actinjr  willi 
honesty  ;  and  that  disguise  and  concealment  would  bo 
far  more  prejudicial  than  'open  and  advised  speaking.' 
I  shall  now  only  express,  in  one  comprehensive  ac- 
knowledgment, my  deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  many 
courtesies,  and  kindnesses,  and  acts  of  friendship,  which 
I  received  on  all  sides  during  a  protracted  and  varied 
tour. 

The  book— TVic  Irish  in  Jimerica—is  now  delivered 
up  to  the  judgment  of  tho  reader,  with  all  its  imper- 
fections on  its  head. 


London:  November  27,  1867. 


brmation 
itcd  will 
3f  viow  ; 
5  wliat  I 
iig  wiili 
k^ould  bo 
)eaHng.' 
isivo  ac- 
!io  many 
p,  'vliicli 
i  varied 

clivcred 
3  imper- 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


VAO* 


Difference  of  the  Position  of  tho  Irish  hi  the  Old  Country,  and  the 
New-Dlirerence  hi  llio  Coiintrifs-Powcr  and  Dignity  of  Lubour- 
Tho  Irish  Element  strong  in  Ilalifux-Their  Progress-Tho  Value  of 
a  'Lot'— No  Snobbishness -Tho  Secret  of  Prospe-ity— The  Poor's 
Asyhim-Cuuse  of  Poverty-Catholic  Church  in'  Nova  Scotia-  Sick 
'Calls'- A  Martyr  to  Duty- No  State  Church-Koal  liuligious 
Equality— Its  Advantages-Pictou-My  Friend  Peter- Peter  shows 
the  Lions— At  tho  Mines— Irish  everywhere— A  family  Party- 
Nova  Scotia  as  a  Home  for  Emigrants 

CHAPTER    II. 

Prince  Edward  Island-How  the  Irish  came- Visit  to  an  Irish  Settle- 
ment-Prosperity of  the  Irish— A  Justice  of  the  Peace— The  Land 
Question— What  the  Tenant  claims— The  Tenant  League  and  the 
Goveromont— •Confiscation'  profitable  to  the  Government,  and 
beneficial  to  the  People-A  Scotch  Bishop's  testimony  to  the  Irish 
—Tho  Irish  and  their  Pastors-Tho  Sisters  of  Notre  Damo-A 
graceful  Gift 

CHAPTER   III. 

Scene  in  the  Lords-The  Irish  Race  despaired  of-The  Settlement  a 
of  Johnville,  New  Brunswick— We  enter  the  Settlement— The  First 
Man  and  Woman-The  Second  Man  and  Woman -Celtic  Energy- 
Jimmy  M'Alllster-Mr.  Reilly  from  Bally vourney-How  the  Man 
of  no  Capital  gets  along—One  Cau»e  of  Success— Mass  in  the 
Forest— Neither  Rent  uor  '  Gale  '—Other  Settlements 60 


29 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Irish  who  settle  on  the  Land-Their  Success— Their  Progress  in 
St.  John-Three  Irishmen-A  Small  Beginning-Testimony  of  a 
Belfast  Independent— Position  of  Irish  Catholics-The  Church  in 
New  Brunswick-A  Sweet  Bit-Missionary  Zeal-Catholicity  in 
St.  John— Past  and  Present 7q 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   Y. 


The  Irish  in  Quebec -Their  Progresg  and  Success -Education  en 
tirely  Free— Afontreal—Nuniber  aiul  position  of  tlie  Irisli— Their 
Difliculties  and  Progress— beneficial  Influence  of  good  Priests— 
St.  Patricli's  Hall 


rAO]t 


91 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Upper  Canada-Number  of  th.*  Irish  -How  they  came  and  settled, 
und  how  they  got  along ;  Illustrated  by  the  district  of  Peter- 
Joiough-Difliculties  and  Hardships-Calumnies  refuted— What 
the  Settlers  did  in  a  few  Mouths-Early  Trials -Progress  and 
Contrast— Father  Gordon— Church-building  in  the  Forest— Aa 
early  tiettlor-A  Sad  Accident-A  Long  Journey  to  Mass— A 
Story  strnngo  but  true-Tho  Last  Grain  of  Tea-Father  Gordon 
on  the  Jiish  and  their  Love  of  the  Faith 103 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Woolfe  Island— Jimmy  Culfe-A  Successful  Irishman— Simple  Pat 
as  an  Agriculturist-The  Land  Question  in  Canada— Wise  Policy 
of  the  Canadian  Parliament— Happy  Results  of  a  AVise  Policy 124 

CHAPTER    VIII.  ' 

The  Irish  Exodus— The  Quarantine  at  Grosse  Isle— The  Fever  Sheds 
—Horrors  of  the  Plague-The  '  Unknown  '-The  Irish  Orphans 
—The  Good  Canadians— Resistless  Eloquence— One  of  the  Or- 
phans—The Forgotten  Name— The  Plague  in  Montreal— How  the 
Irish  died— The  Monument  at  Point  St.  Charles— Tho  Gravemound 
m  Kingston— An  illustrious  Victim  in  Toronto— How  tho  Survi- 
vors pushed  cn-Tl3  Irish  in  the  Cities  of  Upper  Canada— The 
Education  System— T)ie  Durk  Shadow— The  Poison  of  Orange- 
ism— The  only  drawback 131 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Newfoundland— :Monstrous  Policy— Bad  Times  for  the  Irish  Papists 
-How  the  Bishop  saved  the  Colony— The  Cathedral  of  St.  John's 
—Evil  of  having  but  one  Pursuit— Useful  Etforts-The  Plague  of 
Dogs— Proposal  to  exterminate  the  -Noble  Newfoundland  '—Wise 
Legislation  —  Reckless  Improvidence  —  Kindly  Relations  —  Irish 
Girls 


162 


CONTENTS. 


XX 


FAOlb 


CHAPTER    X 


an  cn- 
-Their 

ests — 


91 


Jttled, 
Peter- 
-Wliat 
)  and 
— Aa 
3S — A 
>rdoii 


103 


>  Pat 
'olicy 


124 


sheda 
)han8 
'  Or- 
iv  the 
ound 
urvi- 
-The 
ing'3- 


134 


plsts 
)hn'3 
le  of 
IVise 
Irish 


162 


PA08. 


The  Irish  Exodus— Emigration,  its  Dangers  by  Sea  and  Land—Cap- 
tain and  Crew  well  matched— How  Thingfi  ^ycre  done  Twenty  Years 
since— The  Emigration  Commission  and  its  Woric— Landsharl^s  and 
their  Prey-Finding  Canal  Street-A  Scotch  Victim-The  Sharks 
and  Cormorants-Bogus  Tickets-How  tha  'Outlaws'  resisted 
Reform-The  New  System-The  days  of  Bogus  Tickets  gone— 
A  Word  of  Advice-Working  of  the  System-Intelligence  and 
Labour  Department— Miss  Nightingale's  Opinion-Necessity  for 
Constant  Vigilance— The  last  Case  one  of  the  Worst 179 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Evil  of  remaining  in  the  -reat  Cities-Why  the  City  attracts  the 
new  Comer  — Consequence  of  Overcrowding  — The  Tenement 
Houses  of  Now  York— Important  Official  Reports-Glimpses  of 
the  Reality— An  inviting  Picture— Misery  and  Slavery  combined 
—Inducements  to  Int(.'niperance— Massacre  of  the  Innocents— In 
the  wrong  Place— Town  and  Country 214 

CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Land  the  great  Resource  for  the  Emigrant— Cases  in  Point— An 
Irishman  socially  redeemed— More  Instances  of  Success  on  the 
Land— An  Irish  Public  Opinion  wanted— Irish  Settlements  in  Min- 
nesota and  Illinois-The  Public  Lands  of  America-The  Coal  and 
Iron  of  America-Down  South— A  Kildare  Man  in  the  South— 
Tipperary  Men  in  the  South— The  Climate  of  the  South— California 
an  Illustration  of  the  true  Policy 237 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

California  of  the  Past  and  Present— Early  Irish  Settlers— Death  amid 
the  Mountains— Pat  Clark.  But  One  Mormon— The  Irish  wisely 
settle  on  the  Land-How  they  Succeeded  in  the  Cities-Successful 
Thrift.  Irish  Girls-The  Church  in  San  Francisco— What  a  poor 
Irishman  can  do 


262 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Drink  more  injurious  to  the  Irish  than  to  others— Why  this  is  so— 
Archbishop  Spalding's  testimony- Drink  and  Politics— Temperance 


Organisations- 


Hope  in  the  Future 281 


xn 


0  O  N  T  K  N  T  8  . 


ClI  APTIOU    XV. 

Poor  TiInIj  OoMiilHy— HonoHl,  liihour  Tlio  Mill«<r'H  Hon--\V(>ll-oarned 
Sti(«c».MH  No  poor  Irish  (Jcnlilily  honv—A  H(«iriniulo  Man— How  ho 
bocuino  u  Mah((>r  Hak<>r  'Vho  Irish  don't  do  thonifldvcH  Junlico 
-  How  (lioy  uro  rcgurdiMl    Scotch  Irish 292 

CH  ATT  Kli    XVII. 

HiMnilfuncos  Homo    Sonu>lhin>?  of  tho  An^ol  still     How  tlio  Family 

aro  bronglitoni— R(<niittanc(>H     A  •  Mercenary' -A  Young  I'ionoor 

—A  I'oor  Irish  Widow    Soll-Hacrillco -Tlio  Amount  sont 318 

Oil  Al'T  KU    XVIII. 

Tho  Character  of  Irisli  Wouumi  In  Amorica— An  Unwelcome  Bap- 
tism The  Universal  'restiniony— Shadows—lVrils  to  Fcmalo  Vir- 
luo— Irish  (J  iris  ;  their  Valuo  to  the  Kaco 333 

CHAl'TKR   XIX. 

The  Catholic  (^liurch  The  Irish  The  Church  not  afraid  of  Freedom 
— A  Contrast  Who  the  IN>rsecutora  were-  The  Am(>ricaji  Con- 
Htitution  Wasluiiirtou's  K'eply  (o  the  Catholics— Tho  First  Church 
in  New  York-llostou  in  17!H)  Universality  of  the  Church  Early 
l\!issions  — Two  (Jreat  Orders-  Mrs.  Seton— Mrs.  Selon  founds  her 
Order— Early  DiflicuUicH  and  I'rivutions— Irish  Sisters 346 

C  II  APT  E  R    XX. 

Ilishop  Connolly's  Note-l>ook  liaity'a  Directory  for  1822-I)r.  Kir- 
wan  previous  to  his  Apostacy--The  Church  in  lS22--Progress  in 
1831 — How  the  Faith  was  Lost 37O 

CHATTER    XXI. 

Pr.  England.  Rishop  of  Charleston— Pishop  England's  Diary— Bishop 
England's  Missionary  Labours  The  Bishop's  Trials— Bishop  Eng- 
land's growing  Fame 38j 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Bishop  England's  Piuceso— •  Music  hath  Charms  '—Preaching  by  the 
Wayside -William  Coorgo  Read— '  Mister  Paul' — Taking  a  Fresh 
Start— Father  O'Xoill's  Two  Hundred  Children 392 


CONTENTS. 


zm 


-oiirned 
How  ho 

JiiHlicu 


202 


CHAPTER    XXII I. 


PA  OK. 


405 


Fiunily 


loiioor 


318 


(♦  Rap- 
lo  Vir- 


333 


CIlArTER    XXIV. 

r  7  "'"''"^'  "^'■'PP^'^  ^'  ''■^  SI'i'-t~ Bishop  En.lan.rH 
DcnUh-Sp..  ual  I)eHtit„ilo„-Aa  lato  as  1847-Tho'sig^  or  L 
CrosH  K.ep„.,  tho  Fuith-«ishop  nu,hes -liishop  I,,  .l^  a'c 
the  .Schoo  QueHt.on-A  Lesson  for  tho  PollUcii -T^o  rL; 
of  1  h,la.ldph.a-Tho  xXative  American  Party-The  Biehon  and 
the  Mayor-Progross  of  tho  Church.  ^      ^  „ 

416 


00(1  om 
1  Con- 
/hurch 
Eiu-ly 
Is  hor 


346 


.  Kir- 
OSS  in 


370 


tishop 
Euff- 


381 


y  the 
brosh 
392 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

The  Know  Nothing  Movement-Jealousy  of  the  Foreigner-Know 
Nothmgs  nulijroront  io  Religion -Democratic  Oratofs    Ev^   at 
the  Altm-  and  .n   the  Pulpit-Almost  Incredible-The  Inferna 
Miscreant-A  Strange  Confession. .  ,,, 

444 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
The  Catholic  CImrch  and  the  Civil  War-The  True  Mission  of  the 
WaTTT    "r  "r'  '^"'"  '■"■  "--1^-The  'Sisters  '  during  «t 
-  What  n.e  Sister  behoves  I  believe  '-The  Chariot  of  Mercy- 
Am     to  Forgive  the  Yankees? '-Prejudices  Conquered-' That's 
tll:ZZ^::^. '-  '-' '-"-  ^-^'^^^  ^^^-^-^  ^^e  want  to 


459 


CHAPTER   XXVII, 


Cuthohc  Educahon-The  Catholic  Church  in  Advance  of  tho  Age 
--Ca  hol.c  Teaching  favourable  to  Parental  A.ithority-Protestant 

cil-rV?  'T  T""'"'^''  ''''''''  American'protestan  - 
Catholic  Schools-The  Sister  in  tho  Sphooi  n,ni   fh-    i.vlnm 

-Other  Teaching  Orders-From  the  Camp  to  the  School 488 


I 


XIY 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


PAoa. 


Juvenile  Reformation— Opposition  to  Catholic  Reformatories— The 
two  Systems  Illustrated  — Christianity  Meek  and  Loving— The 
Work  of  the  Enemy— Solemn  Appeals  to  Catholic  Duty 510 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

The  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore— Protestant  Tribute  to  the 
Catholic  Church— Progress  of  Catholicity— Instances  of  its  Pro- 
gress—The Past  and  the  Present— The  Church  in  Chicago  and  New- 
York— Catholicity  in  Boston— Anticipations  not  Realised— Num- 
ber of  Catholics  in  the  States— Circumstances  of  Protestant  abd 
Catholic  Emigrant  Different— Loss  of  Faith  and  Indifferentism. . .  622 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

The  Irish  in  the  War- -Irish  faithful  to  either  Side— Thomas  Francis 
Meagher —  AVhy  the  Irish  joined  distinct  Organisations  — Irish 
Chivalry— More  Irish  Chivalry— The  Religious  Influence— Not 
knowing  what  he  preached  on— Cleanliness  of  the  Irish  Soldier— 
Respect  for  the  Laws  of  War— A  Non  combatant  defending  his 
Castle— Defended  with  Brick-bats—'  Noblesse  Oblige  '—Pat's  Little 
Game— Irish  Devotedness— The  Love  of  Fight— Testimonies  to 
the  Irish  Soldier— The  Handsomest  Thing  of  the  War— Patrick 
Ronayne  Cleburne— General  Cleburne  and  his  Opinions— In  Me- 
moriam— After  the  War— The  Grandest  of  all  Spectacles 545 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Feeling  of  the  Irish  in  America  towards  England— A  Fatal  Mis- 
take—Not Scamps  and  Rowdies— Who  they  really  are— Sympathy 
conquering  Irritation— Indifference  to  Danger— Down  in  the  Mine 
—One  of  the  Causes  of  Anti-English  Feeling— More  of  the  Cause 
of  Bad  Feeling— What  Grave  and  Quiet  Men  think— If  they  only 
could  '  see  their  way'— A  Grievance  redressed  is  a  Weapon  broken 
—The  Irish  Element— Belief  in  England's  Decay— War  with  Eng- 
land—Why most  Injurious  to  England— Why  less  Injurious  to 
America— The  only  Possible  Remedy 590 

South  Carolina — Bishop  Lynch's  Letter 626 

Essential  Importance  of  the  Foreign  Element  to  the  United  States. .  636 
Biographical  Sk  •■cu  of  Major-Geueral  P.  K.  Cieburne 642 


PAoa. 


ies— The 
ng— The 


510 


THE 


te  to  the 
its  Pro- 
md  New 
I — Num- 
iant  ahd 
itisra . . .  622 


Francis 
i  —  Irish 
ce — Not 
oldier — 
ling  his 
;'s  Little 
nies  to 
-Patrick 
-In  Me- 


TEISH  IN  AMERICA. 


545 


tal  Mis- 
mpathy 
lie  Mine 
}  Cause 
ey  only 
broken 
;h  Eng- 
•ious  to 
590 

626 

Itates..  636 
642 


Chapter  i. 


Difference  of  the  Position  of  the  Irish  in  the  Old  Country,  and 
the  New— Difference  in  the  Countries— Power  and  Dij^nity  of 
Labour— The  Iris!i  Element  strong  in  Ilalltax— Their  Proo-ress 
—The  Value  of  a  '  Lot '—No  Snobbishness— The  Secret  of  Pros- 
perity—The  Poor's  Asylum— Cause  of  Poverty— Catholic  Church 
in  Nova  Scotia-Sick  'Calls'— A  Martyr  to  Duty— No  ^tate 
Church— Real  Reli<>ious  Equality— Its  Advantages— Pictou— 
My  Friend  Peter— Peter  shows  the  Lions— At  the  Minos— Irish 
everywhere— A  Family  Party— Nova  Scotia  as  a  Home  for 
Emigrants. 

CROSSING  the  Atlantic,  and  landing  at  any  city  of  the 
American  seaboard,  one  is  enabled,  almost  at  a  glance, 
to  recognise  the  marked  difference  between  the  position  of 
the  Irish  race  in  the  old  country  and  in  the  new.  Nor  is 
the  condition  of  the  Irish  at  both  sides  of  the  ocean  more 
marked  in  its  dissimilarity  than  are  the  circumstances  and 
characteristics  of  the  country  from  which  they  emigrated 
and  the  country  to  which  they  have  come.  In  the  old 
country,  stagnation,  retrogression,  if  not  actual  decay— in 
the  new,  life,  movement,  progress  ;  in  the  one,  depression, 
want  of  confidence,  da,rk  apprehension  of  the  future— in 
the  other,  energy,  self-reliance,  and  a  perpetual  looking 
forward  to  a  grander  development  and  <i  more  glorious 
destiny.  That  the  tone  of  the  public  mind  of  America 
should  be  self-reliant  and  oven  boastful,  is  natural  in  a 
country  of  brief  but  pregnant  history— «,  country  still  in  its 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEUICA. 


infancy,  when  compared  with  Europoan   Stat(^s,  but  pos- 
scssinjr,  in  the  fiillost  sense,  the  stren<,rtli  and  vij^^our  of  nirai- 
hood— manhood   in   all  its  freshness  of  youth  and  buoy- 
ancy of  hope.     In  such  a  coiuitry  man  is  most  conscious 
of  Ills  value  ;  he   is   the  archite(;t'  of  his  country's  great- 
ness,   the   autlior  of    her   civihsation,    the   miracle-worker 
by  whom  all  has   been   or   can   be  accomplished.     Where 
a  few  }'oars  since   a  forest  waved  in  mournful  grandeur, 
there  are  cultivated  fields,  blooming  orchards,  comfortable 
homesteads,    cheerful  handets— churches,  schools,  civilisa- 
tion ;   where   but   the  other  day   a.  few  huts   stood   on   a 
river's  bank,  by  the  shore  of  a  lake,  or  on  some  estuary  of 
the  sea,  sweUing  domes  and  lofty  spires  and  broad  porticoes 
now  meet  the  eye  ;   and  the  waters  but  recently  skimmed 
by  the  light  bark  of  the  Indian  are  ploughed  into  foam 
by  coiyitless  steamers.     And  the  same  man  who  performed 
these  miracles  of  a  few  years  since— of  yesterday—has  the 
same  power  of  to-morrow  achieving  the  same  wondrous 
results  of  patience  and  energy,  courage  and  skill.     But  for 
him,  and  his  hands  to  toil  and  his  brain  to  plan,  the  vast 
country  whose  commerce  is  on  every  sea,  and  whose  influ-" 
ence  is  felt  in  every  court,  would  be  stiU  the  abode  of  sa- 
vage tribes,  dwelhng  in  perpetual  conflict  and  steeped  in 
the  grossest    ignorance.     Labour  is   thus  a  thing  to   be 
honoured,  not  a  badge  of  iuferiority.     Nor  is  the  poor  man 
here  a  drug,  a  social  nuisance,  something  to  be  legislated 
against  or  got  rid  of,  regarded  with  suspicion  because  of 
his-  probable  motives  or  intentions,  or  with   aversion  as  a 
possible  burden  on  property.      In  the  ol'd  countries,  the 
ordinary  lot  of  the  man  born  to  poverty  is  that  poverty 
shall  be  his  doom— ti? at  ho  shall  die  in  the  condition  in 
which  he  was  brought  into  the  world,  and  that  he  shall 
transmit  hard  toil  and  scanty  remuneration   as  a  legacy 
to  his  children.     But   in  a  new  countr^^,  especially  one  of 
limitless  fields   for   enteri^rise,   the  rudest  implements  of 
labour    may   be    the    means    of    advancement    to   wealth, 


4 


IRISH  ELEMENT  STRONG  IN  HALIFAX.  s 

honour,  and  distinction,  if  not  for  thoso  who  nse  fhem,  at 
least  for  those  who  sprinff  from  thdr  loins.     Labour,  nVhtly 
..ndorstood,  bo,„f.  the  ^rent  nuraelo-worlcor,  the   mi:.htv 
cvhser,  IS  rofjarded  with  rospcot,  not  looho.l  down  ,mon 
or  lofhly  patronised;  .and  though  l.irth  and  position  and 
superior  intelhsence  wiU  always  liave  their  inHuou^e,  evon  ■ 
n,  tho  newest  state  of  society,  still  honest  industry  appre- 
e,atos  Its  own  dignity,  and  liolds  high  its  head  a.uidit  the 
n-o„dest  or  the  best.     Therefore  America,  of  aU  countries, 
IS  the  one  most  suited  to  the  successful  tran.splanting  of  a 
race  which  has  in  it  eyery  essential  element  of  greatness- 
alertness  and  yigour  of  intellect,  strength  and  energy  of 
body    patient    industry,   courage    and    daring    in   battle 
cheerful  endurance  of  adversity  and  privation,  qnickn  ss 
of  mycntion,   profound  faith,   with   iirm   reliance   in   the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  and  a  faculty  of  thorouo-hly 

"fd^rifoir '''  ""'"""-■  '■""'  -^ '— 

And  in  no  city  of  the  American  continent  do  the  Irish 
occupy  a  better  position,  or  exercise  a  more  deserved  in- 
fluence than  .n  Halifax,  which  has  been  well  descrilied  by 

Forltrr'"  '^~,'^  «-  '^"larf  of  the  Atlantic' 
Founmg  the  majority  of  the  population  of  that  active  and 
enei^etic  city,  they  constitute  an  essential  element  of  its 
stability  and  pr„gres.s.  This  Irish  element  is  everywhere 
d>.sce„uble  in  every  description  of  business  and  in  all 
branches  of  industry,  in  every  class  and  in  every  eonditi;" 
of  hfe  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  There  are  in  otrer 
cit.es  larger  masses  of  Irish,  some  in  which  they  are  five 
times,  and  even  ten  times  as  niui^erons  as  the  whole  popu! 
■ation  o     Halifax;    but  it  may  be    doubted  if  therfa^ 

they  .iffoid    hemselves  fuller  play  for  the  exercise  of  their 
gher  quaht.e,s  than  in  the  capital  of  Nova  Scotia,  who™ 

tlieir  moral  worth  cGPT>s -no ppv'illi  fl.-;>.       i     •  ■. 
1  •  1    .  -Lt^t -s  p.ico  \vitii  tiicir  material  Drosneritv 

winch  ,s  remarkably  great,  especiaUy  when  consi'deri'g  S 


TEE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


liilii 


circumstances  undor  which  the  far  greater  proportion  of 
thoiii  arrived  in  the  new  world. 

Those  who  are  well  off  at  homo  do  not  quit  it  for  a  new 
country ;  contented  with  tlieir  present  position,  they  never 
dream  of  changing  it  for  one  which  is  sure  to  be  accom- 
panied with  more  or  less  of  risk  or  hardship.     The  impelling 
motive  that   has  driven  millions  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
that  may  drive  millions  more  in  the  same  direction,  is  the 
desire,   so  natural  to  the  civiHsed   man,  of   imj)roving  his 
condition,    of    obtaining    the   certain    means   of    a  decent 
livelihood — in  a  word,  of  maldng  a  home  and  a  future  for 
himself  and  his  children.     It  matters  little  to  what  portion 
of   America  reference  is  had,  the   same  impelling  motive 
has  added  to  its  population,  and  been  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  its  progress  and  development.     Instances  there 
have  been  of  people  well-to-do  in  the  old  country,  dchber- 
ately  exchanging  it  for  the  new,  chiefly  with  the  view  of 
turning  their  means  to  better  account,  and  thus  securing  a 
larger  inheritance  for  their  children  ;  but  when  compared 
with  the  vast  tide  of  emigration  to  which  America  is  mainly 
indebted  for    the   position  she  this   day  holds  among  the 
nations,  these  exceptional  cases  constitute  so  infinitesimal 
a  minority  as  to  be  scarcely  appreciable.     The  mass  came 
because  they  had  no  option  but  to  come,  because  hunger 
and  want  were  at  their  heels,  and  flight  was    their    only 
chance   of    safety.      Thus    the    majority  landed  from    the 
emigrant  ship  with  little  beyond  a  box  or  bundle  of  clothes, 
and  the  means  of  procuring  a  week's  or  a  month's  provi- 
sions—very many  with   still   less.      Some   had   education, 
intelligence,  and  knowledge  of  business ;  but  of  this  class 
few  had   money— they  crossed  the   ocean   to  secure  that. 
Therefore ,  when  in  Halifax,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  America, 
Irishmen  are  to  be  found  in  the  enjoyment  of  independ- 
eni;e,  and    even   considerable    wealth,  it  must    be   evident 
that  their  success  is  attributable  to  tlieir  own  exertions  and 
fcheir  own  merit. 


portion  of 

for  a  new 
they  novor 
be  acconi- 

impclliiijj^ 
untie,  jind 
-ion,  is  the 
roving  his 

a  decent 
future  for 
at  portion 
ig  motive 
!  principal 
ices  there 
y,  dehber- 
0  view  of 
"securing*  a 
compared 

is  mainly 
mong  the 
initesimal 
lass  came 
ie  hunger 
lieir  only 
from  the 
jt  clothes, 
li's  i^rovi- 
ulucation, 
this  class 
nire  that. 

America, 
ndepcnd- 
B  evident 
tions  and 


THEIR  PROGRESS  -THE  VALUE  OF  A  'LOT.'  0 

Halifax  may  bo  described  as  a  city  of  solid  prosperity  and 
steady  progrcjss ;  and  the  Irish  not  only  share  in  its  pros- 
perity but  assist  in   its  progress.      Thus,  for   instance,  u 
large  proportion  of  the  houses  of  business,  several  of  which 
would  bo  worthy  of  the  proudest  capitals  of  Europe,  have 
been  established  by  Irish  enterprise.     One,  the  most  con- 
spicuous for  its  appearance  and  extent,  is  the  property  of 
perhaps  the  most  eminent  and  honoured  Irishman  in  the 
colony,  who  bringing  with  him  from  his  native  country,  as 
his  only  capital,  character,  inteUigence,  and  industry,  has 
not  only  realised  a  splendid  fortune,  but  enjoys  a  reputa- 
tion for  worth  and  probity  which  is  the  pride  of  his  country- 
men.    In  the  rapid  conversion   of  Halifax  from  a  city  of 
timber  to  a  city  of  brick  and  stone,  the  Irish  have  their 
fuU  share.      Splendid  'stores '-'shops'  in  the  old  country 
—and  handsome  mansions  have  been  erected  by  Irishmen- 
and  where  the  Irish  trader   adheres  to   the   old   place  of 
busmess  or  the  modest  dwelling,  it  is  not  because  he  wants 
the  means   of  erecting  something  striking  or   costly,  but 
that  he  lacks  the  incHnation  to  do  so,  and  prefers  the' sim- 
plicity which  he  associates  with  his  success,  and  deems  in- 
dispensable to  his  comfort. 

In  Halifax,  as  throughout  America,  the  Irish  necessarily 
form  the  largo  proportion  of  the  working  population;  and 
when  these  men  landed  on  the  wharf,  they  had  nothing 
save  the  implements  of  their  craft,  or  the  capacity  and  wil- 
lingness for  labour.      But  whether   skilled   mechanics     or 
mere  day-labourers,  their  condition  is,  on  the  whole,  admir- 
able; and  the  best  proof  of  their  good  conduct  is  the  pos- 
session by  a  considerable  number  of  them  of  that  which 
throughout  tho  British  Provinces  and  the  States,  is  the  first 
step  in.advance-'a  lot  '-meaning  thereby  a  piece  of  ground 
on  which  a  house  is,  or  is  to  be,  erected. 

There  is  a  kind  of  magic  inlluence  in  the  possession  of 
tins  first  bit  of  'real  estate.'  An  evidence  of  frugahtv  and 
sell-denial,  it  is  an  incentive  to  the  continued  >.ractice  of 


•  THE  IRISH  IN  AMKUICA. 

tho  Htimo  virtuoH.     It  is  Mm  coiniiKnuuniKMif.,  and  jot  sorao- 
iliiii^»'   iiioro   tliiin    tlio   (^oimiu'iKU'inont;   it   may   bo   ciillovl 
'  luilt  tlio  battle,' ft »r  tlui  n^st  dcipcnds  on  porHcvoniiuio  in 
tho  Hanio  conrsc.     Tlio  Iiouho  may  bo  rudo  in  conHtruction, 
ni(>an  in  appcanmro,  miHoral)l(3  in  acconunodation,  bnt  it  U 
a  //n/y,sr,  in  which  tho  ovvnor  and  hia  family  can  live  ront- 
froo,  for  it  is  tlioir  property— 'their  own.'     With  suffioient 
front  and   KnlHci(int   depth,  what  is   there  to  prevent  tlio 
owner,  in  time,  from  eoverinf-f  tho  Hpaeo  with  a  line  brick 
honne,  with  its  attra<!tivo  whc^j),  and  as  many  .stories  as  ho 
phrases  to  raise?     Oiuio  possess  the  'lot'  in  the  town,  and 
the  roHt  is   (comparatively  easy.      Every  year   adds   to  its 
value ;   and  if  the  owner  eannot  build  a  ^n)od  house  (m  it, 
somo  one  else  may,  and  the  owner  re(!eives  in  either  ease  an 
aniplr»  r<>turn  for  his  investment.     But  in  thousands  of  :n- 
Htanc'.es  throu-^hout  America,  tho   Irish,  oven   of  tho  very 
humbl(>st  (class,  possess  lots   on  whi(5h   they  have   erected 
dw(^llin«^-houses    which    th(\y   themselves   occui)y;    and   in 
every  city  one  may  daily  behold  a  happy  transformation  in 
the  character  of  tho  dwollinji;-,  wherever  industry  is    com- 
bined with  thi'ift  and  frugality.     The  structure  of  timber 
is  r(>plac(Hl  by  a  buildino-  of  brick ;    aiul  so  the  family,  it 
may  be  oi  the  mechanic,  it  may  bo  of  the  labourer,  move  up 
iji  iho.  social  scale  ;    and  the  superior  education  which  their 
(•hildrcn  receive  enables  them  to  improve  the  position  their 
father  had  accjuircnl  by  his  j,n)od  (H)nduct  r.nd  good  sense. 
That  'lot'  is  a  wonderful  friend  to  the  Irish  in  America,  and 
this  tho  wise  of  them  know  full  well. 

The  majority  of  those  who  now  constitute  the  strength 
of  tho  Catholic  element  in  Halifax  came  without  funds  or 
frietxds,  some  literally  without  a  shilling  in  their  pocket; 
but  with  lu)n(\sty,  intelligence,  and  a  determination  to 
work.  From  tho  humblest  occupations,  natural  to  their 
lirst  etforts  in  a  strange  place,  many  of  the  Irish  in 
Halifax  have  risen  to  wealth  and  inllueuco.  Lidustry  and 
good  conduct --these   their   all,  their   sword   and  buckler, 


NO  SNOnniSIINESS-TIIE  SECRET  OF   PROSPKlilTV.        T 

"-il;  timy  airrmil  with  tlu,.,.,  Iho  r,.„,,o<.t  of  the  eom- 
minuty,  hy  ,vh„.u  the  «u<;eoKsful  ..ivhitcct  of  his  „«■„ 
pos.tu.n  >H  justly  estinmtocl   ut  a  higher  v.Uuc   tlum   the 

ortuim  e  inheritors  o(  the  wculOi  of  those  who  ,ve„t 
iMiioro  thorn. 

It  may  perhaps  bo  too  mud,  to  assert  that  tlie  traus- 
plant^ug  of   the   Irislnnan   from   his   own   soil  to  a  new 
couutry  and  a  healthier  atmosphere  has  been  of  uumivod 
ben<.fit  to  huu  in  every  sense ;  but  in  one  respect  his  im- 
l.rovemout  is    „„<p,estionable-he   is    above   that    shame- 
taced  Knobl„„l„,ess  whieh  he  too  often  displays  at  home 
It  IS  no    every  one  in  the  old  country  who  will  make  the 
story  ot  Ins  own  elevation  in  life  a  matter  of  honest  pride 
In  Hahlax-in  Ameriea-it  is  diderent.     From  several  of 
my  countrymen,  of  diilerent  decrees  of  prosperity  and  social 
standing,  I  have  heard  the  history  of  thcii-  early  strug-d^s 
and  lUtimate  success.     Some  of  these  had  not  the  acton- 
age  of  an  early  education,  and  were   self-made  and  self- 
taught;   but  they  were   men   of  groat  sagacity  and  fine 
natural  talent   ,vhom  cultivation  woiUd  have  well  fitted  for 
he  admmistration  of  puWic  allairs.     One  of  these  P-avc  as 
Ins  reason  for  not  accepting  an  oiKeewhicli  had  been  placed 
at  his  disposoJ  h.s  own  consciousness  of  the  want  of  early 
training  which  was  unavoidable  in  his  ease,  owing  to  the 
eu-c.„ms  aneos  of  Ireland  at  the  time  of  his  leaving  if  and 
.Yet  he  dealt  with  the  question  of  the  houi-the  in-oposo 
Coniederation  of  the  British  Colouies-with  a  breadth  o 
tl  ought  mid  a  mastery  of  detail  that  proved  the  very  fitness 
winch  he  modestly  repudiated.  eiy  mness 

•Such  a  man  is  worth  5,000/./  'this  man  has  10,000/  > 
TOOOon?,"  ''°'-"'    2»'00™-'    'this  other  man  is   wortii 

io      !     /  T  '  ;'  ''"■"'  '"  l'''""^''  ^"^  '"=™  i-cpeatodly  said 
me  of  Irislnnen   who    made  no   show  .vhatovoi ;   but 

te  IS  a  steady,  prudent  man,'  'he  is  a  good,  worthy  man,' 


THE  IllISII  IN  AMERICA. 


or,  'tLorn  is  not  a  better  (toiuhictcd  nuiu  in  tho  province.' 
Tlio  fjcoldt-n  nilo  of  huccchh  in  lil'is  wuh  thuH  froiiucntly  cx- 
prcHKod:  '  To  j^^ot  on  hero,  a  man  must  be  induHtriouH  untl 
wi'll-coniluctod  ;  ^vith  induHtry  and  j,^ood  concbict  any  man, 
DO  matter  what  he  is,  or  what  ho  has,  or  liow  lie  begins, 
can  get  on  here ;  but  not  without  theno  e8s<'ntiais.  But 
the  man  who  drinks,  bid  him  remahi  at  home — ho  won't  do 
herc>.'  Spoken  in  Nova  Scotia,  as  tlio  exiierienee  of  people 
of  all  ranks.  (Masses,  and  occupations,  it  is  equally  appli- 
cable to  ev(u-y  province  of  British  America,  jind  every  State 
in  the  Union.  Industry,  sobriety,  good  conduct — these, 
under  favourable  circumstances,  raise  the  humblest  to  the 
level  of  the  great;  and  favourable  circumstances  abound 
in  America. 

A  visit  to  two  institutions  of  very  dilVerent  character  im- 
pressed me  with  a  still  stronger  (!onvicti(,n  of  the  prosperity 
of  Halifax.  These  institutions,  its  Poor's  Asylum  and  its. 
Schools. 

.  The  number  in  the  Poor's  Asylum,  according  to  the 
record  in  the  book,  was  35J:.  This  was  the  gi-oss  number ; 
but  the  number  belonging  to  the  city  was  only  120,  which 
was  small  for  a  population  of  3-4,000.  The  rest  had  been 
sent  in  from  various  places  in  the  province — some  from 
distances  varying  fi-om  50  even  to  200  miles.  Strictly 
speaking,  there  was  not  an  able-bodied  male  pauper  in  the 
estabUshment :  those  who  were  there  were  the  aged,  the 
infirm,  the  sick,  the  helpless,  or  those  waifs  and  strays  that 
are  stranded  on  the  shore  of  life,  4he  victims  of  their  folly 
and  infatuation.  Deducting  the  children,  04  in  number, 
the  insane  or  idiotic,  about  50  in  all,  and  tho  sick,  infirm, 
and  aged,  who  were  the  majority,  the  remaining  >vere  but 
few.  As  the  Master  said,  there  was  not  in  the  house  a  man 
who  could  perform  a  dn^y't;'  \''ork. 

What  to  do  with  Ow'  ' '  n-khouse  children — how  to  deal 
with  those  who  are  brov.;>Lt  up  in  such  institutions — is  one 
oi  t-iio  mosv  lormiviao-iG  Ciixuciiities  "witli  w'hicii  the  aciniiiiitir- 


s — IS  one 
1  adniiiiisi- 


THE  POOIi'R  ASVLUM-CAUSE  OF  I'OVKUTV.  § 

trators  ,.f  tl,o  Poor-law  in  Irc'laiul  havo  to  drul.     There  ia 
no  iUmcnliy  in  UrMfax  on  that  score;  and  .f  ihrou.^h.nit 
AmvYwu   tho   clul.h.  n   of  tho   poor   WTe    tn-atod   in   ono 
oHsontial  ruHi)e(;t  in  tho  Hanio  spirit  of  fairnoHH,  tlicrc  wonld 
bo  fowcr  occasions  for  bitterness  tlian  nnhappily  exist  in 
Borne  of  the  Northern  States.     Tlio  cliildren  bein-  carefully 
tauoht,  the  boys  are  appenticed  out  as  early  as  tho  aj?o  (.£ 
tw(ave  or  thirteen,  and  are  indentured  till  tvvontyroncs  due 
precaution  beii.nr  ua  ^^t  only  ns  to  tho  means  and  character 
of  tho  master,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  reli^aous  faith 
of  the   child;    the   latter  bein^^   secured   l)y   bindin<(   tho 
Catholic;  child  to  a  Catholic   master,    and   the    Protestant 
child  to   a  Protestant  master— a  course  which  commends 
itself  to   every   fair   and   impartial  mind.      The   -nrls  jwe 
apprenticted  till  the  a^^e  of  eifrhteon.     By  the  conditions  of 
the  indenture,  the  child  is  to  be  suitably  educated,  and  to 
bo  provided  vfith  a   Sunday  suit,  at   the   expense   of  tho 
master   or   mistress.     But   with   very  few   exceptions,  the 
chddron,  boys   and   girls,   become   incorporated   with   tho 
family,  of  which,  almost  from   the  first,  they  are   looked 
upon  ana  treated  as  members. 

Of  the  entire  number  of  inmates  in  this  HaHfax  institu- 
tion, about  two  thirds  are  Irish;  and  according  to  the 
united  testimony  of  the  secretary  and  two  gentlemen  of 
local  eminence,  the  greater  number  of  them  owed  their 
social  ruin  to  the  one  fruitful  cause  of  evil  to  the  Irish 
race— that  which  tracks  them  across  the  ocean,  and  follows 
■'lem  in  o.ery  circumstance  and  condition  of  hfe— that 
which  mars  their  virtues  and  magnifies  their  faiUngs^ 
that  which  is  in  reahty  the  only  enemy  they  have  occasion 
to  dread,  for  it  is  the  most  insidious,  the  most  seductive, 
and  the  most  fatal  of  all—cMnk.  Bemarking  on  the  fact 
mentioned,  the  gentleman  by  whom  I  was  accompanied,  a 
man  of  long  and  varied  experience,  said:— 'AH  can  do  well 
'here  if  they  only  abstain  from  drink,  or  if  they  wiU  drink 
'm  moderation;  but  drii  k  is  tho  ruin  of  men  here,  just  as 


10 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


'in  tho  old  country.  No  niattor  how  a  man  starts,  thon,£Th 
*  witliont  a  cont  in  his  pocket,  lie  can  nialvo  money  hero, 
'provided  he  is  well-conducted,  and  does  not  drink.'  Hap- 
pily, however,  the  nnml)er  of  tlio  victims  was  but  small. 

My  visits  to  the  Catholic  schools,  which,  as  is  the  rnh; 
throuj>h()ut  America,  are  conducted  by  members  of  reli- 
^nous  communities,  were  attended  with  nnich  interest,  and 
left  upon  my  mind  the  deepest  impression,  not  so  mi:  Ai  of 
the  excellence  of  the  teaching,  for  of  that  I  had  no  doubt 
whatever,  but  of  the  substantial  prosperity  of  tlie  town, 
and  the  solid  comfort  enjoyed  by  the  least  wealthy  portion 
(4  its  inhabitants — its  working  pojiulation.  I  went  through 
(he  schools  conducted  by  the  Christian  Brothers,  wliose 
system  of  teaching  and  discii)lino  is  in  all  respects  iden- 
tical with  that  so  well  known  in  those  cities  of  the  old 
country  which  are  blessed  by  their  presence  ;  my  desire 
being  merely  to  see  the  children,  how  they  looked,  and  in 
what  mariner  they  were  clad.  Nor  was  my  surprise  less 
gr(\at  than  agreeable  at  the  spectacle  which  I  beheld.  It 
was  heightened  by  the  force  of  contrast;  as  but  a  few 
days  before  I  left  Ireland  I  had,  with  others,  accompanied 
certain  distinguished  Englishmen  to  the  schools  of  the 
Christian  Brothers  of  my  own  city,  and  the  remembrance 
of  what  I  there  witnessed  was  strong  and  vivid.  There — 
in  Cork — there  was  much  to  gratify,  much  even  to  astonish, 
but  there  was  also  too  much  to  sadden  and  depress.  The 
boys  bright,  quick,  intelligent,  exhibiting  in  every  Depart- 
ment extraordinary  proficiency,  to  such  a  degree  indeed  as 
to  excite  the  openly-expressed  amazement  of  the  strangers; 
but  too  man}  of  them  exhibited  the  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  intense  poverty,  not  only  in  their  scanty  rai- 
ment but  in  their  pale  and  anxious  faces.  What  a  con- 
trast to  this — in  this  one  respect  only — was  i)rese]ited  by 
the  schools  of  the  Brothers  in  Halifax !  Not  a  sin<iie  amn 
or  indication  of  poverty,  not  a  trace  of  want,  hot  a  tattered 
coat  or  trowers,  not  a  rent,  not  a  patch — on  the  contrary, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  NOVA  SCOTIA. 


11 


oncy  hero, 
nk.'  ITiip- 
i  sniiill. 
l.s  the  rule 
irs  of  rcli- 
terest,  and 
io  ini:  jh  of 
I  no  doubt 

tlio  town, 
hy  portion 
nt  through 
crs,  wliose 
)ects  iden- 
of  the  old 

my  desire 
vcd,  and  in 
rpriso  less 
joheld.     It 

but  a  few 
conipanicd 
ols  of  the 
uembranco 
,  There— 
o  astonish, 
rcss.  The 
I'y  Depart- 
!  indeed  as 

strangers ; 
.kable  evi- 
;caiity  rai- 
liat  a  con- 
3scntcd  by 
single  sign 
i  a  tattered 
)  contrary, 


every  boy,  whatcyer  his  age,  neatly  and  comfortably  clad, 
and  havnfg  the  appearance  of  robust  health.  Indeed  such' 
was  their  appearance  that,  had  I  not  been  repeatedly  as- 
sured they  were  the  children  of  working  men,  I  slmuld 
•  have  taken  them  as  bcaonging  to  the  middle  oluss.  Jjri.-ht, 
int(!lligent,  bold-eyed,  happy-locking  boys,  the  right  stull' 
for  tlie  future  citizens  of  a  free  counti-y  and  a  progrc^ssivc 
community. 

In  tlie  scliools  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Chiirity  there 
was  the  same  air  of  comfort  and  neatness  in  the  dreso  cf 
the  female  childi-en;  aiul  even  where  a  special  sc^hool 
n)iglit  happen  to  be  overcrowded,  tluire  was  an  absence  of 
that  oppressive  odour  too  connnon  in  free  schools  frequented 
by  the  children  of  the  working-classes,  which  is  mainly  attri- 
butal)le  to  the  poverty  of  their  clothing.  There  was  nothing 
li"re  but  comfort  and  decency  of  dress;  good  proofs  of  the 
conduct  and  condition  of  the  class  thus  favourably  repre- 
sented. 

The  Cathohcs  of  Nova  Scotia  are  estimated  at  115,000, 
being  thus  divided— 80,000  French,  45,000  Scotch,  'and 
40,000  Irish.  In  Halifax  the  Catholics  form  one  half  of 
the  population,  and  are  almost  wholly  Irish. 

Without  going  back  farther  than  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century,  an  incident  of  pregna^it  significance  will 
enable  the  reader  to  contrast  the  position  of  the  Catholic 
Church  of  that  day  with  the  position  it  now  enjoys.     The 
house    stiU    occupied    by   Archbishop    Connolly    and    the 
clergj^  ^^llo   officiate   in    tlie  cathedral,  was   built  by  the 
Itev.    Dr.    Burke,  or  Father  Burke,  as  he  was  familiarly 
called.     Dr.  Burke  Avas   a   profound  scholar,  and  eminent 
for     his    scdentitic    attainments.      Following    the   natural 
impulse  of  ^i  learned  and  zealous  priest,  he  determined  to 
establish  a  school  for  the  education  of  the  Catholic  youth 
of  that  day.      The  Pen;-1  Laws  were  still  unrepealed";  and 
though,  from  the  growing  enhghtonment  of  the  age,  this 
infamous   code   had   fallen  into  disuse,    it   still  afforded  a 


12 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


read}-  weapon   to   the   caprice   or  hostility  of  the  bigot. 
Having  been  informed  of  the   intention  of  Dr.  Burke  to 
estabhsh   a  school,  and  thus,  through   the  most  effeotive 
means,    elevate   the   condition   of    his    co-rehgionists,  the 
then  Governor  of  the  province  threatened  to  put  the  law 
in  force  against  the  priest  if  he  persevered  in  his  attempt. 
In  this  conjuncture  aid  came  fi-om  an  unexpected  quarter. 
The  leading  Protestants  of  the  town  exhibited  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  iUiberal  pohcy  of  the  Governor  in  the  most 
effective  manner,  by  sending  their  own  children  to  a  school 
which  they  had  the  wisdom  to  appreciate  and  the  moral 
courage  to  support.     The  Governor,  whatever  the  perver- 
sity of  his  bigotry,  dared  not  enter  into  conflict  with  the 
influential  allies  of  the  Cathohc  priest;  and  so  Dr.  Burke 
and   the  cause   of  education   triumphed.     Young   officers 
fi-equented   the   academy,  to   learn   mathematics   and   the 
science   of  fortification  from    its    accomplished  principal 
Strangely  enough,  the  Government,  whose  representatives 
sought   to  crush   the  school  and  the   teacher,  afterwards 
marked  its  api^reciation  of  the  services  of  Dr.  Burke — who, 
owing  to  his  influence  with  the  Indians,  prevented  them 
fi-om  joining  the  French  in  the  war  then  raging — by  con- 
ferring on  him  a  pension  of  300Z.  a  year.     It  need  scarcely 
be  added,  that  this  money  was  applied  to  the  advancement 
of  rehgion  and  enlightenment  in  a  young  and  struggUng 
mission. 

The  progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Nova  Scotia  was 
slow,  and  not  over  hopeful,  for  the  first  quarter  of  the 
present  century.  In  the  year  1816  there  were  about 
1,500  Catholics  in  Halifax,  and  save  in  a  few  towns,  where 
small  congregations  existed,  the  faithful  were  scattered 
over  the  province,  the  greater  number  hidden  in  the  wilds 
and  fastnesses  of  an  almost  unexplored  country,  and  far 
away  from  the  ministrations  or  influence  of  a  priest.  The 
Irish  carried  their  faith  with  them  into  the  forest;  and 
though   many  of  them   for   years   never   heard   the  once 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  13 

famiHar  voice   of   their   pastor,   they  cherished    in    their 
hearts   that   strong  attachment  to   the    reho-ion   of    their 
fathers  which  is  one  of  the  most  marked  characteristics  of 
their  race.     As  an  ilhistration  of  this  steadfastness  in  the 
faith,  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  present  Archbishop 
when  a  missionary  priest,  on  one  occasion  baptised  ei-ht 
chiklren  of  an   Irish   family  in   the   midst  of  the   woods 
The  father  had  not  seen  a  priest  more  than  twice  in  twenty 
years ;  and  wliat  rendered  his  fidelity  the  more  remarkable 
was  the  fact  that  he  had  married  a  Baptist,  who  did  not 
regard  with  much  favour  the  creed  of  her  Cathohc  hus- 
band.    This  was  as  late  as  1842,  when  there  were  but  five 
priests   m   Hahfax,  and  fourteen  or  fifteen  in  the   entire 
diocese.     The   necessary  intermarriage  of  Irish  Catholics 
with  members   of  various  Protestant  sects  caused  many 
of  the  former  to  lose  the  faith.      No  chapel,  no  priest, 
no  mass,  no  administration  of  sacraments ;   nor,  from  the 
special  circumstances  of  a  country  in  which  education  had 
only  ceased  to  be  penal,  were  the  Irish  emigrants  of  the 
early  part  of  this   century  remarkable   for   their  hterary 
acquii-ements-hence   what    could   be   more   natural   than 
that,   while    the   parent    clung   passionately   to    the   faith 
for  which,  perhaps,  he  had  suffered  at  home,  his  children 
whom  he  might  not  be  able  to  instruct  or  control,  should 
adopt  the  religion  of  their  Protestant  relatives  ?     Such  at 
any  rate,  has  been  the  case  in  numerous  instances ;  and 
though   these   instances   are   fewer  than   they  have   been 
represented  to  be,  they  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  exhibit 
many  a  strange  contrast  between  the  old  Cathohc  patrony- 
mic and  the  modern  creed.     The  same  circumstances  pro- 
duced the  same  result  in  many  parts  of  America. 

In  1820  there  were  but  few  priests  in  the  province. 
The  first  Bishop  of  Hahfax  was  consecrated  in  Rome  in 
ISIG,  and  died  in  1820.  A  little  wooden  church,  dignified 
by  the  lofty  name  of  Hi.  Peter's,  was  his  cathedral.  On  its 
site  a  building  more  suited  to  the  increasing  wants  and 


iiiT^ 


u 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•n 


gi'owiiig  importance  of  ILe  Catholic  body  was  erected  in 
course   of  time ;    until   eventually  that  church,  which  was 
rco-arded  as  a  splendid  stru*  ture  l)y  tliose  who  first  knelt 
before  its  altar,  gave  place  to  the  existing-  cathedral,  which 
is  one  of  the  tinest  edifices  of   the  kind  in  America,  but 
which   is   to  be   further   extended   and  bej.rufified  by  the 
addition  of  a  magnificent  fa9adG  of  white  marble  from  the 
celebrated  quarries  of  Westchester,  in  the  State  of  New 
York.      The   wooden  'cathedral'  of  the  first  quarter  of  a 
century  was  a  fitting  type  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  that 
day:   the  grand  stone  structure,  some  180  feet  in  length, 
and   with  accommodation  for  3,000  worshippers,  fittingly, 
represents   its  position   at   this   day.     Where   a  mere  log 
hut  was   the   only   temple   of    the   faith   in   Halifax,   four 
churches  are  now  insufficient  for  their  congregations ;  and 
a  new  building,  of  the  pointed  Gothic  order,  was  roofed  in 
previous   to   the   winter   of  18GG.     Where  there  were  but 
20  priests  in  1820,  there  are  over  70  in  the  present  year. 
These   have   the    spiritual  care   of   115,000    Catholics,  for 
whom,  or  by  whom,  more   than  100  churches  have  been 
built.     In  18-12  the  province  was  erected  into  a  See,  and 
in   1845   it  was   divided  into  two  Sees,  the  Western  and 
Eastern.     The  Western  was  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  an 
archbishopric   in    1852.     Bishop    Walsh    was   created   the 
first   archbishop;    and   on   the   death   of  that  prelate,    in 
1859,    Dr.    Connolly,    then    Bishop    of    New    Brunswick, 
which  is  still  within  the  ecclesiastical  province,  was  trans- 
ferred to   Hahfax.     Since   1830,   when   first  the   Catholic 
element   of  Nova   Scotia  may  be   said  to   have   acquired 
anything    hke    the    appearance    of    strength,   more    than 
150,000/.    has  been   expended    in    buildings    for  rehgious 
and   educational  purposes.     Of  this   amount,  by   far    the 
largest  proportion  has  been  raised  by  voluntaiy  contribu- 
tion, under  tlm  auspices  and  through  the  influence  of  the 
second  archbishop ;  a  man  who,  besides  possessing  a  good 
intellect,  considerable  power  as  a  writer  and  speaker,  and 


erected  in 
"wliich  was 
first  knelt 
Llral,  Avliicli 
fierica,  hut 
icd  by  the 
e  from  the 
te  of  New 
larter  of  a 
cli  of  that 
in  length, 
s,  fittingly 
mere  log 
lifax,    fc/ur 
;ions ;  and 
roofed  in 
were  but 
sent  year, 
holies,  for 
iiave  been 
See,  and 
stern  and 
iiity  of  an 
sated   the 
relate,   in 
runs  wick, 
vas  trans- 
Catholic 
acquired 
ore    than 
religious 
far    the 
contribu- 
te  of  tliO 
?  a  good 
iker,  and 


'  SICK  CALLS.'  j5 

strong  common  sense_a  valuable  quality  in  one  who  has 
at  aU  times  to  place  himself  in  the  front-is  endowed  with 
indonntable   energy  and   perseverance.      Like   his   prede- 
cessor, Archl^ishop  ConnoUy  is  one  of  the  many  pielatc^s 
whom  Ireland  has  given  to  the  American  Church.     Besid(>s 
the  four  churches  and  that  which  has  been  just  completed 
there  are  m  Hahfax  three  convents-two  of  the  Order  of 
Chanty,  and  one  of  the  Sacred  Heart-with  a  House  of  the 
Christian  Brothers,  whose  new  schools  form  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  of  the  architectural  ornaments  of  the  city     Nor 
IS  Hahtax  without   a   Society  of  St.  Vincent,  which  fimls 
the  fitting    ime  for  its  benevolent  operations  in  the  depth 
of  the  hard  winter,  when  business  is  usually  duU,  employ- 
ment consequently  not  so  general  as  in  the  milder  seasons 
of  the  year,  and  the  feeble,  the  sick,  and  the  improvident 
feel   Its   ngour   most    keenly.      There    are   hkewise   more 
pui-ely  rehgious    associations,  whose  object  is  to  stimulate 
to  the  constant  practice  of  piety,  and  protect  the  youn^^ 
and   inexperienced  fixmi    the    dangers   incidental  to   their 

impio  ed  by  increased  means  of  usefulness  as  to  be,  if 
not  fully  equal  to  the  spiritual  requirements  of  the  faith- 
ful, a  complete  protection  against  those  contingencies  to 
which  loss  of  faith  on  the  part  of  individuals  or  famili  s 
may  .f.urly  attributable.  There  is  no  longer  an  insta 
-atleas  inNova  Scotia~of  a  Catholic  who  has  been  for 
3 cars  without  having  seen  a  priest;  bvt  there  is  still  hard 
Ttotiri  1  "^''^^'^^y  priest  in  a  territory  so  widely 
extended,  and  whose  population  is  so  thinly  scattered  over 
a  vast  si)ace. 

PoAaps  the  hardest  and  most  trying  d„ty  which  a 
C.  tl  ohc  clergyman  has  to  discharge  is  connected  with 
«J.at  are  so  weU  known  to  laity  and  clergy  as  'sick  calls' 
-luerfs  made  by  the   relatives  or  friend.r'of  the     i  if  :; 

Catholic  priest   never   shrinks.      It  matters  not  what   tha 


,-»» 


16 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


clislance,  the  lionr,  or  the  danger,  thoiio-h  the  sick  or  dyinr* 
poison  was  a  huiidred  miles  away,  thougli  it  was  midnio-ht" 
and  there  was  not  a  strr  visible  in  the  hcavcns~thou<vh 
the  place  to  be  visited  reeked  with  t^lie  deadliest  pestilence 
the  priest  should  at  once  obey  the  solemn  summons  The 
priest  who  shrinks  from  this  imperative  duty  is  unfit  for 
his  mission ;  happily,  an  instance  of  neglect  or  cowardice 
IS  rarely  heard  of  in  the  Catholic  Church.  But  there  are 
circumstances  in  which  the  conscientious  discharge  of  this 
duty  IS  attended  with  an  amount  of  individual  hardship 
that  can  scarcely  be  appreciated  by  those  who  inhabit  a 
country  at  once  thoroughly  cultivated  and  thickly  popu- 
laceci. 

Father  Geary,  a  Halifax  i3riest-originally  from  Water- 
tore,  and  now  about  four  years  dead-fi-equently  attended 

sick  calls'  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  fi'om  the  city 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  did  so  without 
the  assistance  of  horse  or  vehicle   of  any  kind     He  had 
hterally  to  walk  the  hundred  miles,  and  this  he  has  done  as 
often  as  four  times  in  the  year.     As  the  tidings  of  distress 
reached  the  city,  generaUy  by  boat,  the  zealous  missionary  at 
once  girded  his  loins  and  prepared  to  set  out  on  his  long  and 
arduous  journey,  frequently  in  the  depth  of  a  Nova  Scotian 
wmter,  when  the  snow  lay  two  feet  thick  on  the  ground 
the   thermometer   was  many   degrees    below    zero,    and  a 
cutting  blast  blew  right  in  his  teeth.     There  was  not  in 
his  mmd  a  thought  of  shrinking,  a  second's  doubt  as  to  the 
necessity  of  then  setting  out :  a  human  soul  was  in  peril 
and  the  priest's  duty  was  to  reach  the  sick  person's  bedside 
as  speedily  as  possible ;  and  this  he  did.     Twenty  miles  be- 
fore breakfast  was  'a  trifle'  to  Father  Geary. 

Within  the  last  ten  years  a  Nova  Scotian  priest  has  dis-: 
charged  the  duties  of  a  district  extending  considerably  o^-er 
one  hundred  miles  in  length  ;  and  while  I  was  in  HaHfax  the 
Archbishoj)  appointed  a  clergyman  to  the  charo-eof  n,  mi««ion 
which  would  necessitate  his  making  journeys'of  more  than 


A  MARTYR  TO  DUTY.  ^ 

that  many  miles  in  extent.     And  when  a  missionary  priest 
m   1842,    the   Archbishop   would   make    a    three   months' 
tour  from  Hahfax  to  Dartmouth,  a   distance-jroin-   and 
returning-of  450  miles ;    and  would    frequently   dher^^e 
ten  and  even  twenty  miles   from   the   main   line  into  the 

irwlrr^lf  V    '''^''  *^'^'  ^°^^-'  ^''^y  ^"^-  ^  population  of 
10,000   Cathohcs,  who   had  no  spiritual  resource   save  in 

hnn,  and    a  decrepid  feUow-labourer  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave. 

It  is  not  three  years  since  a  young  Irish  priest,  then  in 
the  first  year  of  his  mission,  received  what,  to  him,  was 

iterally  a  death  summons.     He  was  lying  iU  in  bed  when 
the      sick  caU'  reached  his  house,  the  pastor  of  the  dis- 
trict being  absent.     The  poor  young  man  did  not  hesitate  a 
moment ;  no  matter  what  the  consequence  to  himself  the 
dying  Catholic  should    not  be   without  the   consolations 
of  religion.     To  the  dismay  of  those  who  knew  of  his  in- 
tention, and   who   remonstrated  in  vain   against  what   to 
them  appeared  to  be  an  act  of  insanity,  he  started  on  his 
journey,  a  distance  of  thirty-six   miles,  which   he  accom- 
phshed  on  foot,  in  the  midst  of  incessant  rain.     It  is  not 
possible  to  teU  how  often  he  paused  involuntarily  on  that 
terrible   march,   or  how   he  reeled   and   staggered   as  he 
approached  its  termination;   but  this  much  is  well  ascer- 
tamed-that  scarcely  had  he  reached  the  sick  man's  bed 
and  performed  the  functions  of  his  ministrv,  when  he  was 
conscious  of  his  own  approaching  dissolution  ;   and  there 
being  no  brother  priest  to  minister  to  him  in  his  last  hour, 
he  admnnstere.1  the  viatacum  to  himself,  and  died  on  the 
lloor  ot  what  was  then,  indeed,  a  chamber  of  death.     Here 
was  a  glorious  ending  of  a  life  only  well  begun 

Bermuda  is  included  within  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of 
^^0  Archbishop  of  Hahfax,  and  to  this  fact  is  ovin-  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  instances  of  a  'sick  call'  on'record 
A  (.athobc  lady  in  Bermuda  was  dying  of  a  lingering  dis- 
ease, and  knowing  that  farther  delay  might  b^  attended 


18 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ill 


iliir 


''11 


with  consoqnenees  which  she  regarded  as  worse  than  death, 
she  availed  hernelf  of  the  opportunity  of  a  vessel  then  about 
to  sail  for  Halifax  to  send  for  a  clergyman  of  that  city.  The 
(hiy  the  message  was  deUvered  to  the  clergyman,  a  vessel 
was  to  sail  from  HaUfax  to  Bermuda,  and  he  went  on 
board  at  once,  arrived  in  due  course  at  the  latter  place,' 
found  the  dying  lady  still  aHve,  administered  to  her  the 
rites  of  the  Church,  and  returned  as  soon  as  possible  to 
Ins  duties  in  Halifax;  having,  in  obedience  to  this  remark- 
able 'sick  call,'  accomphshed  a  journey  of  1,G00  miles. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  candid  and  unbiassed  men  in 
Ireland,  that  the  existence  of  a  State  Church,  and  that  the 
church  of  the  smaU  minority  of  the  population,  is  injurious 
to  the  country  in  many  respects,  especially  in  preventin^r 
that  social  fusion  and  Christian  harmony  which  are  among 
the  happy  results  of  complete  religious  equality.     No  one 
who  has  been   in   Nova   Scotia   but   must,    if  not  utterly 
blinded  by  prejudice,  be  convinced  that  the  non-existence 
of  a  State  Church  and  a  dominant  religion  is  attended  with 
the  most  beneficial  consequences  to  that  colony.     There  is 
no  cause,  no  legahsed  cause,  of  hostihty  and  ill  blood,  no 
provocation    to  anger— no  griemnce.     The    Catholic   feels 
himself  to  be  on  an  equahty  with  the  Protestant,  towards 
Avhom  he  does  not  and  cannot  entertain  a  sentiment  of  hos- 
tihty ;  and  the  Protestant  is  pleased  to  know  that  his  Ca- 
thohc  fellow-citizen  regards  him  with  a  kindly  and  fraternal 
teehng.     '"We  have  no  occasion  to  grumble  ;  we  are  able  to 
meet  together  and  go  hand  in  hand  in  aU  matters  ;  and 
in  fact,  Ave  are  the  happiest  people  in  the  world,'  said  a 
Cathohc    Irishman,  whose  memories    of  his  own  country 
were  full  of  bitterness,  but  who  enjoyed  the  contrast  the 
more  keenly.     'I  hold  the  opinion,'  said  a  Protestant  gen- 
tleman, the  descendant  of  an  Irish  father  fi-om  the  south  of 
Manster  'that  if  the  foUowers  of  a  church  will  not  sustain 
It   It  IS  not  worthy  of  being  sustained,  and  the  sooner  it 
fulls  the  better.'     Few  perhaps  of  this  Protestant  gentle- 


REAL  RELIGIOUS  EQUALITY, 


10 


man's  relatives  iii   the   old    country  would    endorse    his 
opinion  ;  but  he  could  estimate  the  advantage  to  the  social 
harmony  of  his  country  of  not  having  in  the  heart  of  the 
body  politic  a  perpetual  source  of  mutual  exasperation  and 
bitterness.     From  persons  of  all  creeds  and  classes  I  re- 
ceived the  most  gratifying  testimony  as  to  the  good  feeling 
existing  between  the  dillerent  churches,  and  the  happy  re*^ 
suit  of  the  prevalence  of  this  Christian  sentiment.     'The 
Archbishop  has  done  much  to  promote  this  feehng,'  was 
frequently  remarked  by  Protestants  and  Catholics,  officials 
and  townspeople.     True,  the  Archbishop  has  done  much 
to  break  down  the  barriers  which  sect  will  create  under  the 
most  favourable   circumstances;    but   had   there   been- in 
Nova  Scotia  a  State  Church,  and  a  domniant  party,  sworn 
to  maintain  it  at  any  cost  or  hazard,  not.aU  the  wisdom, 
tact,  and  kindliness  of  so  eminent  and  influential  an  eccle- 
siastic as   the   Archbishop   of   Hahfax  could    successfuUy 
counteract  the  hostihty  these  would  be  sure  to  engender. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  truth  to  assert  that  CathoKcs 
in  Nova  Scotia  have  not  their  difficulties  to  contend  with. 
They  have  difficulties  and  troubles,  but  they  are  in  a  posi- 
tion in  which  thej  can  endure  if  they  cannot   overcome 
them.      For  i-    ' -^oq,  unscrupulous   politicians  wiU  occa- 
sionally rair,e  ai  .athohc   cry,  that  for  the  time  in- 
flames the  passio.  '^e  unreflecting,  and  disturbs  the 
good  understanding  ,,..ich,  as  a  rule,  pervades  the  colony. 
But  it  not  unrarely  occurs,  that  the  same  pohtician— gene- 
rally a  man  who  troubles  himself  but  Httle  about  rehgion 
m  any  form  whatever— who  thought  it  his  interest  to  excite 
ill  feeling  against  Cathohcs,  discovers  that  it  is  more  to  his 
advantage  to  stand  wcU  with  that  body ;  and  instances  are 
told  of  the   same  unscrupulous  party-leader  one  day  ca- 
lumniating, and  the  next  making  overtures  to,  those  who 
can  at  aU  times  materially  influence  the  result  of  an  election, 
or  even  the  fate  of  an  administration.     Nor   is   this  utter 
dishonesty  and  shameless  want  of  principle  confined  to"a 


20 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


-f 


few  unscnipiilous  individuals  in  ono  British  Colony  •  it  is 
much  to  bo  regrettod  that  the  species-whose  chief  cho^ 
ractcristic  is,  that  thoy  arc  ready  to  sacrifice  everything 
save  and  except  what  they  think  to  be  their  personal 
interest,  for  a  good  'cry'— are  to  be  found  plentifullv 
scattered  throughout  America.  Even  the  most  bankrupt 
pohtician  finds  'No  Popery!'  a  useful  cry-for  the  time  • 
for  the  good  sense  of  the  community  wearies  of  the  folly' 
or  the  pohtician  has  probably  invented  something  whicli 
has  the  merit  of  novelty,  and  ho  aUows  Catholics  to  exist  in 
peace. 

The  Irish,   including   Protestants    and    Cathohcs,    are 
estimated  at  100,000,     The  larger  proportion  of  the  Protes- 
tants wore  originaUy  from  tho  north  of  Ireland,   or  had 
left   the    United    States    after    they  had    achieved    their 
independence ;  and  their  descendants  now  possess  nearly 
«ie  whole  of  the  counties  of  Colchester   and   Cumberland, 
ihey  took  up  most  of  the  lands  from  which  the  French 
Acadians  -were  banished  in   the  year  1755.       That  they 
should  be  prosperous  and  independent  is  consistent  not  only 
with  the  sturdy  energy  of  their  nature,  but  with  the  coun- 
tenance and  support  which  they  received  from  the  colonial 
authorities  and  home  government.      With   them,  as  with 
their  brethren   in   all   the   British    colonies,   things   went 
favourably :  not  so  with  the  Catholics,  who  had  much  to 
contend  with,  and  everything  to  do  for  themselves. 

A  striking  proof  of  the  position  of  Irish  Catholics  in 
Nova  Scotia— to  which  the  vast  majority  emigrated  under 
the  most  unfavourable  circumstances— may  be  mentioned  • 
namely,  that  of  the  2,000  Cathohc  voters  in  the  city  and 
county  of  Halifax,  aH,  or  nearly  all,  own  over  50/.  of  real 
Bstate,  and  but  very  few  of  them  claim  the  franchise 
through  the  annual  payment  of  a  rent  of  50/.  and  upwards 


nCTOU.    MY  FRIEND  TETKIt.  2I 

The   necessity  of  taking  passarro  at  Pictou  for  Pnnco 
Edward's  Island  brou-lit  me  to  that  town,  which  is  prettily 
situated  on  the  shore  of  the  harbour.     The  Irisli  do  not 
at  least  as  vet,  form   any  considerable   proportion  of  the 
population,    ihe   CathoHe   congregation   being  little   n.ore 
than  one  hundred  in  number.     But  it  would  be  difficult  to 
behold  anywhere  a  more  remarkable  instance  of  generous 
devotion   to  their  faith  than  the   CathoHc  Irish  have  dis- 
played in  this  place,  where  they  are  r.    nun.orically  w(.tk. 
-To   the  stranger  entering  the  harbour  the   most   striking, 
object  IS  a  well-built  brick  church,   with  lofty  spire   sui" 
mounted  by  a  gilded  cross.     This  imposing  structure-the 
fu^^t    actually  built    in    the    town,    though    a    handsome 
Protestant   church  was  being  erected  in  the   October  of 
IbbG-is    the    work   of    the   small   Catholic   congivgation 
whose  zeal  and  liberality  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
that  It  has  cost  about  2,000^.,  the  greatest  portion  of  which' 
was   supplied  from   their   own   narrow  resources.     In.  an 

honest  compatriot,  Peter  C ,  to  whom  I  spgedily  became 

known  I  saw  the  type  of  the  true-hearted  Irishman,  who 
not  only  maintained  the  character  of  his  faith  by  his  own 
conduct,  but  would  make  any  sacrifice  for  the  honour  of 
his  chiu-ch.     Peter,    commencing  with  httle   indeed,   had 
worked  his  way  with  resolute  energy,  and  was  then  a  pros- 
perous  man,  with  something  laic,  by  for  the  rainy  day.     The 
new  church,  which  the  Archbishop  was  to  consecrate  in  a 
tew  days  after  my  departure,  was  the  delight  of  Peter', 
heart ;  and  from  Peter  I  heard  how  grandly  the  little  con- 
gregation responded  :o  the  appeal  of  their  pastor,  who,  his 
Glengarry  blood  notwithstanding,  had  the  fase  of  a  Spanish 
samt.     Peter  gloried  in  the   site,   at  once    beautiful   and 
commandmg-in  the  solid  well-made  bricks,  and  the  manner 
m  which  ihey  were  laid-in  the  buttresses,  which  he  patted 
with  a  caressing  hand,  as  if  he  were  encouraging  them  to  do 
their  duty  fixithfuUy;  but,  above  aU,  in  the  steeple,  which 
could  be  seen   far   and   wide.     'I  collected   100/.    myself 


Sfl 


THE  lUISli  IN  AMEIIICA. 


from  Protoatants  for  it ;  and  what  in  moro,  thoy  helped  to 
clear  the  fouiidatiouH,  which  was  done  in  a  .sinj^do  day.  'Tis 
the  blensed  truth  I'm  telling  you,'  said  my  IViend  Peter, 
with  emphatic  triumph. 

Peter,  like  all  sober  and  steady  Irishmen  whom  I  have 
met  with  in  America,  had  a  keen  reKsh  for  '  real  estate,' 
and  b(ung  already  possessed  of  an  odd  '  lot '  here  and  there', 
lie  had  his  eye  on  other  bits  in  convenient  sites,— I  shall 
not  say  where,  as  in  that  case  I  should  bo  deliberately 
violating  the  promise  of  strict  secrecy  imposed  on  mo 
as  the  condition  of  hia  unreserved  confidence.  I  trust 
Peter  wiU  have  gratified  the  object  of  his  honest  ambition 
before  these  pages  reach  Pictou ;  but  if  not,  he  may  feel 
sure  that  the  identical  '  bits '  wiU  never  be  even  indicated 
by  me  either  to  friend  or  foe. 

Among  tne  libns— the  live  lions— of  Pictou  to  whom  I 
was  duly  introduced  by  Peter,  was  the  American  Consul, 
and  a  most  agreeable  Hon  he  proved  to  be  ;  courteous  and 
kindly,  as  all  true  American  gentlemen   are.     The   Major, 
for  such  was  his  rank,  evidently  held  Peter  in  high  esteem,' 
and  Peter  repaid  the  Major's  good  opinion  of  him  witli 
liberal  interest.     Peter  had  previously  held  out  to  mo  the 
hope,  based  indeed  on  his  own  confident  belief,  that  the 
Major  would  be  good  enough  to  favour  me  with  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  many  strange  and  curious  things  which  he  had 
collected,  and  which  had  more  than  once  excited  Peter's 
unaffected  amazement.     I  was  of  course  humbly  hopeful 
that,  through  my  friend's  influence,  I  should  be  deemed 
worthy  of  so  great  a  favour,  though  possessing  only  the 
questionable  claim  of  a  stranger  and  a  traveller.     The  in- 
troduction  effected,   the    application,   made   with    modest 
boldness  by  Peter,  met   with  instant  success.     'Didn't  I 
teU  you  how  it  would  be?'  whispered  Peter,  as  we  stood 
in   the   presence   of    the    accumulated  wonders.     A    nod, 
which  eloquently  expressed  'You  did,  sure  t^nough,' was 
received  by  Peter  as  a  satisfactory  reply.     The  collection 


PETER  SHOWS  ME  THE  LIONS.  28 

"  ludH  .  fo„„.lH    HheUs,  unn.ralH,  roptiloH,  animals,  binls 
i.Hhos,  tcoth    c,f    extinct   anin.alH,   in.plon.ontH    <.f    sava'c 
wurlaro,  o^udoncos  of  l,y-^.c>no  civiliHation,  an<l  a  variety ".f 
ot  --   .uattorH       AU   those   .onders   were   explained   and 
.ndered   .nteUi^able   to   his   visitors   hy  the    Major,   who 
iavoured   us  with   a   sufficient   account   of  each.      Peter's 
«onunio  admiration  as  he  hstened  to  the  Consul,  and  then 
f^'lanced  a   me,  as  if  to  witness  the  effect  produced   on   my 
nund  by  the  tooth  of  the  megatherium,  or  the  fo.sil  with 
the  u.ipression  of  a  plant,  a  sheU,  or  a  reptile,  was   every 
monuait  becoming  warmer  and  more  explosive.     His  'Oh 
Major!   grew  more  and  more  enthusiastic;   but  when  the 
owner  of    he  treasures  exhibited  in  glass  jars  the  various 
products  derived  from  a  particular  description  of  coal,  and 
reter  was  assured  that  aU  those   beautiful   colours  were 
produced  by  chemical  action  from  a  himp  of  coal  such  as 
he  held  in  his  hand,  his  'Oh,  Major!'  .was  largely  tinged 
^ith  a^^^.     He  frankly  declared  that  he  had  never  seen 
the  hke  m  aU  his  life,  and  was  profuse  in  his  acknowledg- 
ments for  the  kindness  which,  at  his  influential  request,  had 
been  conferred  on  his  friend,  my  unworthy  self.     The  Maior 
pleasmgly  varied  the  inteUectual  treat  with  refreshment  of 
more  matBrial  kind,  to  which  neither  Peter  -nor  his  com- 
panion proved  insensible. 

Under  Peter's  competent  guidance,  I  sauntered  throu-h 
the  town  and  rambled  along  the  shore,  and,  with  Peter  !is 
my  companion,  I  sat  on  a  piece  of  timber  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  water,  which  murmured  in  the  tiniest  wavelets  on 
the  beach,  scarcely  moved  by  the  soft  air  of  the  Indian 
bummer    that  harmonised   deliciously  with  the  exquisite 
colour  of  the  sky,  in  which  grey  and  blue  were  blended 
into  an  indescribable  tint  of  loveliness ;  and  while  the  sea 
mm-mured  as  it  kissed  the  beach,  and  the  soft  air  brought 
with   It  a  sense  of  mental  repose,  I  listened  to  Peter,  who 
toid  of  his  trials  and  difficultieH  bravely  met  and  manfully 


it 
i 

P 

4 

i 

J 

k 

I 

i 

■i 


21 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


overcome,  and  gave  me  the  beneJ&t  of  liis  shrewdly  ex- 
pressed opinions  on  his  race,  their  many  virtues,  their  few 
iKit  dangerous  defects.  'T.iis  is  a  fine  country  for  any 
man  that's  inchned  to  work,  and  able  to  work,  and  it's  a 
man's  own  fault  if  he  won't  get  along,  and  be  respected, 
no  matter  w^io  or  what  he  is  ;  but  it's  a  bitter  bad  place 
for  the  drunkard  anyhow,  wliether  there  is  a  good  place 
for  him  in  any  country,  which  I  am  not  sure  there  is,' 
added  Peter  doubtingly.  Peter  had  an  eye  for  the 
picturesque  and  beautiful  as  well  as  for  choice  bits  of  real 
estate,  and  was  fond  of  the  views  to  be  seen  from  various 
points.  Seated  in  Peter's  comfortable  'trap,'  gallantly 
bowled  along  by  his  well-trained  and  vigorous  horse 
'  Charley, '^  I  enjoyed  many  charming  pictures  of  land  and 
water,  enhanced  not  a  little  by  my  companion's  intelligent 
comments  on  men  and  things. 

Peter  insisted  that  I  should  not  think  of  leaving  Pictou 
without  visiting  what  he  held  to  be  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world — the  mines  at  New  Glasgow,  at  the  other  side  of 
tho  harbour ;  and  having  nothing  better  to  do,  I  closed  with 
his  ojffer  to  accompany  me  in  my  first  subterranean  adven- 
ture. So  uj)  at  six,  breakfast  at  seven,  on  board  at  eight, 
at  New  Glasgow  in  an  hour  after,  and  then  on  to  the 
mines.  As  we  crossed  the  harbour,  Peter's  glance  rested 
lovingly  on  the  red-brick  church,  the  gleaming  windows, 
the  tall  spire,  and  the  glittering  cross.  'Well,  surely,  it 
does  look  beautiful,  out  and  out ;  and  only  to  think  how 
few  of  us  there  were  to  do  it!  Glory  be  to  the  Lord!  It 
seems  w^onderful,'  said  Peter. 

Arrived  at  the  Albion  Mine,  permission  to  visit  which 
had  been  previously  obtained,  Peter  and  I  assumed  the  re- 
quisite but  unbecoming  costume,  and  were  in  rapid  yet 
easy  descent,  under  the  cautious  guidance  of  the  head 
banksman,  an  Irishman  from  Wexford.  To  one  who  goes 
down  into  n,  mine  for  the  first  time,  the  aspect  of  every- 
thing in  a  quite  new  world  is  necessarily  strange,  and  even 


vvdly  ex- 
lieir  few 

for  any 
rid  it's  a 
3spected, 
ad  place 
od  place 
there  is,' 

for  the 
i  of  real 

various 
gallantly 
s  horse 
and  and 
teUigent 

^  Pictou 
tiders  of 
c  side  of 
sod  with 
I  adven- 
it  eight, 
1  to  the 
e  rested 
dndows, 
iirely,  it 
,nk  how 
3rd!     It 

t  which 
the  re- 
ipid  yet 
le  head 
ho  goes 
f  ovcry= 
tid  even 


AT  THE  MINES-IRISmiEN  EVERYWHERR  25 

knes  the  lofty  chamber.,  faintly  ilh.mmecl  and  repfeto 
wHh  ense  dmdow.,  the  rattle  of  the  cars,  the  cries  of  the 
dnvers  the  stroke  of  the  pick,  and  the  other  noises  of  a 
coal  .mne  m  active  work-all  produce  for  the  moment  a 
bewddenng  effect.  Below  as  well  a.,  above  were  Sen 
employed  m  every  capacity,  the  majority  engaged  n"he 
ordinary  manual  labour,  but  not  a  few  entrusted  wi  1  po"^ 
faons  of  respons^bihty,  or  employed  in  work  of  a  iZZr 

f  praise    ."Tr"  '"^-  "f"^^""'  ^"'"^'^ '"  '"^  ^  ^ 
"•There  S  T  .       ^  "jd^^teous,  sober,  and  trustworthy. 

IndTu'nd      '^^;,'"^"S''  "*  l»'°P-ty  worth  several  thou- 

he  young  people   are  now  profltlbly  e^Cr^l^et 
engmeers,  some  in  other  skiUed  branche  .■  ^g;    n  what 

lorn  nL  ^        "  ^''"^  ''''*  ^  ""P^'^'l  «'^  I'^te^t  ticlings 
from  Dunmanway,   m  Cork  county;  to  a  'boy'  of  thirtv 

froniConnemaralwasable  to  communicate  tlfe  agreeabk 
Wr^h-f"'   ''^   "'"   ^"'*  ^"-'  was  -ar  fnd 

a^di^^::;:  vzc':,:;^;::;::r7  °^ «'"  *«  '>'-' 

rai-v '  thnt  tl,„   .         ,         ^'  '°""  *™™    «weet  Tippe- 

laiy,    that  the   'members  stood  by  the  people  in  viL 
ment,"  he  prayed  'that  the  Lord  might  strr^t  en      !„; 

:ntr™ii:'/'^t/''^  i""»-  i-p>ewantod';ri:;i,"r 
rite,  21  r'arinnutf  tt  r  ""^  °^ 

nv^v  /1 1  ^    i       1-1         '"^lifc,   uLprn  ot  Its  workuiof  seam 

P      VT^'-  .'""''  ^'^  *°  ''«  ''^°^'^  to  the  work?  at  the 
Pans  Exhibition  by  the  pillar,  37  feet  10  iiichr,  in  hoi ht 
winch  was  hewed  from  this  magmScent  bed  0^0"      S 
were  as^proud  of  that  pillar  as  if  they  were  the Twnef':^ 

Owing  to  the  increasing   number  of  CathoHes  at  the 


i 


26 


TIIH  llJISir  IN  AMERICA. 


miiios— for  il,(.ro  nvo  w'vcrnl  odicrs,  includiDg  <Ji<>  All)i<)ii 
and  llio  Acmliiiii,  ilic  lali(«i-  i\w  proporly  of  an  AiiuMicaii 
r.Muimny-an  iuhliliou  was  Ixmhj^-  uuulo  to  llio  CaJliolic 
Clnirch,  whicli  is  (•oiiv(>ni(Miily  aiul  coiiHpitmously  ])lacc(l ; 
iu)r  is  ii;  iiunrobuhh^  fluil,  in  u  few  years  luviico,  when  tliia 
luiiiiii..-  ]iai-ish  is  morc^  porfocily  oroanisod,  a  iino  building' 
of  brick  and  stoiu^  will  roplacd  llio  neat  struciuro  now 
barely  sullicicni  for  its  conf^nv^^ation. 

In  fli(>  i)r(\s(>n('o  oF  IVt,(>r,  and  nnu-li  fo  the  dcliobt  of 
that  (Milluisiastio  ii-islmian,  a  Scotch  g-ontloman  j^avo  an 
iidniirablt>  acconnt  ol'  onr  connirynunh  r(>t(U'  j>lanccd  at 
mo  with  a  look  of  radiant  trinnipli,  and  domandod,  in  n 
luannor  at  oiico  corroborative  and  clinching — 'Didn't  I 
toll  yon,  sir,  lli(>r(^  Avasn't  a  sin^lo  bk-icko-nard  anionost 
the  onliro  of  ihvui'r  And  IVtor  niioht  well  sp(>ak  with 
Jintliorily,  for  ho  kiunv  or  was  knt)wn  to  nearly  every  man 
in  the  district. 

I'eter  was  anxious  that  I  should  pay  a  visit  of  eonrtesy 
to  a  fricMid  of  his  in  Tictou,  but  appeared  to  bo  somewhat 
doubtful  as  to  my  compliance  with  his  wishes.  'To  toll 
yon  tlu^  truth,'  s.-iid  Vctvv,  with  an  air  of  no  httle  mystery, 
as  wtMvere  a-;ain  crossin<v  the  harbour,  'ho  is  an  C)ran<,^o- 
man,  or  sometluno-  of  that  kind,  any  ho\^;  but  he's  from 
your  own  part,  and  I  know  lu>'d  bo  {jflad  to  see  yon— indeed 
he  let  me  h^irn  as  mnch  tVom  himself.  ''Tis  true,  lie's  not 
one  of  onrselvos,  bnt  lie's  a  mighty  decent  honest  man  still.' 
IMuch  relieved  by  the  o-onuine  rt^jidiness  I  expressed  to 
meet  '  the  Oranoeman,  bnt  a  mighty  decent  honest  man,' 
onr  return  trip  was  rendered  additionally  pleasant  to  Peter 
■who  enjoyed  the  appearance  of  the  church  on  the  hill-sid« 
with  more  than  nsnal  satisfaction.  I  paid  the  promised 
visit  to  the  sturdy  Protestant  from  Bandon  ;  and  not  even 
from  Peter  himself  conld  I  rcH'cuve  a  more  cordial  welcome 
tlian  from  the  former  iidiabitant  of  that  fanions  boroi-.n-h. 
'lh(^  whole  I'.iuiiily.  pjirenis  and  children— the  latter  inl  Jli^ 
gent  and  nicely  reared—  were  glad  to  see  one  fi'om  the  old 


A  FAMlr.Y  I'AIJTY.     NOVA  SCOTIA.  jT 

'-".  >>'-';"«1.t  with  l,i,„  ,,„t  ,,i,  i„,,„,,,,.J  „;,,  '    '     »  t 

'      ''■•  ""'"-™""''  ""''  ite  pianc,  and  pile  of  „,„«,  ,,oro 
U.0  ,n,,„t  pl...„,  l..ti„„„„  u,  tl.  e,„„f„l,  ,„.„  u«to  ,;'«:: 

i<tu       Il,at  was  to    tlio    r<,„r-l,„„so,    wJiioh    offorcl   • 
.,na..l<aI,lo  ™„tra.st  to  .i,„i,a..   i„„Ht„ti„n«  ,     ,.     "      i 

^;^.;A..rp„„.^--r;s:::^;^,-.H. 

stituto  an  ao-roc'iblo  varioty  in  Ireland      ^n,n  ^       . 

pait  of  Nova  Scotia;  ai„l  if  it  did  not  prove  the  cxisto  co 

is  paiticlar  fr.ond'  m  charge  of  everybody  in  the 
rfnp.fa.„„.  the  captain  to  the  captain'.s  .boy.'  if.deed  io 
considerate  was  Peter  tli-it  I,.„i  t       i  inucea,  so 

i,roen««  T  1    I-        ,  '  ^  ""'y  "'"sented  to  the 

p.occss  I  beheve  lie  would  have  had  me  labeUcd  as  weU 
as  my  baggage.      In  the  last  .moment  I  volnntaX  ro 
uowed  my  promise,  that  I  would  not  disclosr  to     L« 
nan  the  shghtest  information  as  to  the  'bits  o    ground 
upon  ,rtiich  Peter  had  reposed  his  speculative  eya  ' 
Of    Nova    Scotia,   as   a  home  for    the    ,  ,„iLnt    it  ;= 

onskiUed ,  but  It  ,s  not,  like  other  of  tlie  British  colonics, 


28 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


or  tliG  States,  capable  of  witliRtanding  a  rush.  There  was 
a  want  of  labour  in  Huhfax  in  the  autumn  of  18GG ;  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  province  an  addition  to  the  labour 
supply  would  have  been  hailed  with  satisfaction.  Nova 
Scotia  does  not  present  the  same  inducements  to  the 
settler  that  are  offered  in  New  Brunswick  or  Western 
Canada;  stiU,  there  is  land,  even  cultivated  land,  always 
to  be  had  at  reasonable  prices.  There  seems  to  be 
a  liabit  of  change  common  to  humanity  generally  at 
the  Western  side  of  the  Atlantic.  This  does  not  arise 
either  from  caprice  or  unsteadiness,  but  from  a  desire  to 
do  better;  in  fact,  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities^ 
which  a  new  an'''  yet  undeveloped  country  constantly 
offers  to  the  enterprising  and  adventurous.  Thus  the  man 
who  has  cleared  a  farm — literally  hewed  it  out  of  the 
forest,  hears  of  something  likely  to  suit  him  better,  and 
he  does  not  long  hesitate  about  putting  his  farm  in  the 
market,  and  selhng  it  at  a  fair  price.  Or  his  sons,  yield- 
ing to  the  spirit  of  adventure  so  common  to  the  youth  of 
the  country,  have  gone  to  sea,  or  migrated  to  Canada  or 
the  States,  and  the  father  has  thus  lost  the  physical  means 
of  working  his  land ;  and  he  also  sells,  in  order  to  reahse 
his  capital,  and  perhaps  go  into  some  other  business.  Thus, 
by  this  constant  process  of  change,  the  path  is  opened  to 
the  new  comer,  who  has  only  to  save  a  little  money,  bide 
his  time,  and  seize  the  wished-for  opportunity  of  becoming 
the  proprietor  of  so  much  land  in  fee-simple,  to  have  and 
to  hold  for  ever. 

The  tendency  of  the  young  people,  not  of  Nova  Scotia 
alone,  but  of  most  of  the  British  colonies,  is  to  push  on  to 
the  States.  Better  employment— perhaps  more  nominal 
than  real— and  a  wider  field  for  their  energies,  appear  to 
be  the  inducements  that  lure  adventurous  youth  from  the 
natural  attractions  of  home. 


:i 


riicrc  was 
L8G6;  and 
he  labour 
Ml.  Nova 
ts    to   the 

Western 
Lil,  always 
ms  to  be 
iierally  at 
not  arise 
,  desire  to 
)ortunitief^ 
constantly 
s  the  man 
)nt  of  the 
etter,  and 
rm  in  the 
ons,  yield- 
3  youth  of 
Z!anada  or 
cal  means 
•  to  reaUse 
!ss.  Thus, 
opened  to 
oney,  bide 
becoming 

have  and 

)va  Scotia 
3usli  on  to 
3  nominal 
appear  to 
1  from  the 


CHAPTER  II. 

r|NE  of  the  smaUest,  certainly  not  the  least  interesth.g, 
\J    of  the  British  colonic  s  of  North  America  is  that  of 
Pnnce  Edward  Island.     Though  not  exceeding  in  super- 
ficial area  the  size  of  an  ordinary  Irish  county,  and  actuaUy 
not   more  than   two-thirds   that  of   the   county  of   Cork 
with  a  population  not   greater  than  that  of   the  city  of 
Cork,  this  beautiful  little  island  enjoys  the  advantages  of 
fi-ee  representative   institutions,   and  a  system  of  govern- 
ment   based    upon    popular    suffrage     and    amenable    to 
popular  control.      The  authority  of  the  Crown  is  repre- 
sented  by  a  Lieutenant-Governor;  while  in  the  House  of 
Assembly    the    leading    parties    into    which    the   political 
world    of  the   colony   is    divided  have    their    recognised 
leaders  and  accredited  organs.     To  such  an  extent  is  this 
caiTied    that  the  gentleman    to  whom    the  party  out   of 
oflice    delegates,   either    formally  or   by   tacit  assent,  the 
privi  9ge   of   speaking    in   its   name,    is    described    in  the 
Parhamentary  Reporter '  (the  '  Hansard '  of  Prince  Ed- 
v.-ard  Island),  and  referred  to  in  debate,  as   '  the  Leader 
ot    the   Opposition '-the    Gladstone   or  the   D'IsraeU   of 
the  colony.     It  is  not,  however,  with  the   institutions  of 
the  island  this  work  has  to  do ;  but  this  bare  allusion  to 
the  form  of   government  which  its  inhabitants  enjoy  will 
be  iound  necessary  when  noticing  a  movement  of  rather 
an  important  character,  fraught  with  consequences  of  no 


30 


Till')  Illisn  IN  AMKIUCA. 


siMiill  nioiiKMii  io  the  fiiiuro  of  a  pooplo  wIjoho  main  resource 
lies  in  llio  produco  of  llnnr  f(>rt.i]()  Hoil. 

To  ili()  o(>„orul  popnliilioii  of  Priiico  Edward  Island 
Mio  IriHli  hear  a  ('oiisi(h'rahl(;  proportion;  and  not  ordy 
are  they  to  U}  found  in  the  prnic.ipal  towns,  and  Hcatt(!red 
()V(H'  tlu!  face  of  th((  island,  jnixod  up  Avith  tlio  otlu^r 
nationidiiics— French,  »Scot(!h,  and  En^dish— of  wliich  the 
])o|)ulafion  is  composed,  hut  they  form  sc^ttlenie  "   dieir 

own,  exclusively  Irish  in  race  and  Catholic  in  croo. 

r(>oplo  rar(>ly  mi^-ratc  to  a  strange  countrj^  and  face  the 
hardships  incidcuital  to  a  now  existenc(\  from  tlie  mere  lovo 
of  chauf^-e;  nor  do  the  eondV)rtable  and  the  well-to-do 
usually  ([uit  their  a^freeablo  liomes  from  a  spirit  of  adven- 
ture. Necessity  is  the  i^-i-and  stinudus  which  impels  the 
Euro])ean  io  sever  with  rude  hand  Jiis  old  ties  of  homo 
and  kindred,  and  (piit  liis  uativo  land  to  cross  the  ocean 
in  search  of  a  new  home.  Of  all  people  in  the  world  tho 
Irish  are—or  rather  wire — most  intensely,  even  passionately, 
attached  l,o  the  land  of  their  birth,  and  the  least  willing 
to  h^ave  it  for  another  country,  whatevtu-  its  attractions. 
But  tlu^  mass  of  the  Irish  who  (piitted  the  shores  of  the 
old  country  had  no  choice  left  them  :  what  the  process  of 
law,  too  t)ften  ac(H>mpanied  with  the  pomp  and  parade  of 
armed  force,  but  partially  elVeeted,  was  accomplished  by 
the  resistless  inlluence  of  blioht,  famine,  and  pestilcu.;e. 
These  were  tho  chi(>f  impellino-  causes  of  that  rush  across 
tho  ocean  which  has  been  one  of  tho  most  extraordinary 
phenomena  of  the  present  century,  and  which  may  yet 
brino-  about  events  well  >vorthy  of  tlio  gravest  consideration 
of  the  patriot  and  the  statesman. 

A  wave  of  this  tide  of  human  life  broke  upon  tho  shores 
of  Prince  Edward  Island,  over  whoso  fair  and  fertile 
bosom  were  scattered  thousands  of  men  and  women,  the 
majority  of  them  poor,  pinched  with  hunger,  Rcj^ntily 
clad  :  but  hardy,  pati<Mit,  enduring,  and  willing  to  toil. 
A  few,  a  very    few,   brought  with  theui  a  little  capital. 


1  resource 

I'd  JmIjiikI 
not  only 
sciitt(!re(l 
IJio  ()(h(>r 
vliicli  tho 
^     :    rlioir 

1  fiico  the 

IIKM'O  loVO 
Y(ill-t()-(l() 

)t'  iulvon- 
npols  tliG 

of  homo 
-lie  ocean 
vorld  tho 
sioiiatoly, 
st  willing 
tractions. 
OS  of  the 
iroecss  of 
)arado  of 
ishod  by 
o.stilcu.;e. 
sh  across 
Lordinary 

may  yot 
ideration 

10  shores 

id  fertile 

men,  the 

R(.*;iiiitily 

to   toil. 

capital, 


VISIT  TO  AN  IRISH  SETTLMMKNT.  31 

l)orliapH  half  a  dozen  pounds,  pr()l>ahly  not  more  than  as 
mi.uy  dollars;  whereas  the  majority  had  scarcely  suiU- 
cu'ut  to  purchase  tlunr  tii'st  meal  on  landin-  'For  one 
wl.o  has  come  out  with  a  dollar,  ten  have  come  out  with  a 
sliiIHii-,'  says  the  estimable  Bishop  of  Charlottetown,  Dr. 
Mclutyre,  a  mild  and  jrenial  S(H)tchman,  who  loves'  and 
IS  loved  by  his  Irish  ilock.  Many  of  those  who  thus 
commenced  had  been  fluu-  on  shore  from  fever-infected 
onuo-rant  ships  in  the  tiirie  of  the  Insh  Famine,  and, 
s(^•ltt(;nIl^•  over  the  island,  had  worked  their  way  by  honest 
labour  to  the  position  of  independent  settlers,  even  owners 
in  fee  of  tlie  farms  they  now  occui)v. 

AVishin-  to  SCO  for  myself  one  or  two  of  the  Irish  settle- 
ments, so  as  to  form  a  more  correct  estimate  of  the  actual 
position  of  my  countrymen  in  their  new  home,  I  readily 
availed  myself  of  the  kindness  of  one  of  the  shrewdest  and 
abh^st  ot  the  merchants  of  (Jharlottetown='=-whose  capital 
when  he  arrived  from  Ireland,  consisted  of  a  good  practical 
education,  keen  intelligence,  and  high  principle,  and  who 
IS  now  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  al)lest  and  most  prosperous 
among  the  business  men  of  the  island.     Through  his  kind- 
ness I  was  enabled  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  conclusion 
on  a  subject  which  to  me  was  one  of  the  deepest  interest. 
From  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning  to  the  dusk  of  the 
evening-with  the  aid  of  a  strong  horse,  a  light  vehicle, 
and  a  well-informed  guide,  who  knew  every  inch  of  the 
road,  and  was  acquainted  with  almost  every  person  whom 
we  met  during  our  prolonged  tour— I   was    engaged   in 
visitmg  and  inspecting  two  Irish  settlements,  occasionally 
entering  a  farm-house,  or  field  in  which  the  woi-k  of  har- 
vesting was  stiU  going  on,  and  s].eaking  with  its  hospitable 
and  industrious  owner.     Confimng  myself  to  a  single  set- 
tement-that  of  Monaghan-I  shaU  state  the  result  of  my 
ol)servations. 

The  Monaghan   settlers,  to  use  the  expression  of  onn 
*  Tho  Hon.  Daniel  Brcnnau 


> 


82 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


who  knew  them  well,  'had  not  a  sixpence  in  their  pockets 
when  they  landed.'     But  they  took  'green- wood  farms,'  or 
tracts  of  land  entirely  covered  with  forest,  not  a  rood  of 
which  was  cleared  when  they  entered  into  their  occupation. 
Selecting  the  most  convenient  position  for  his  future  home, 
the   adventurous   settler  erected  his  little  log  cabin,   and 
aaving  secured  that  shelter  for  himself,   and  perhaps  for 
his  family,  ho  commenced  to  chop  away  at  the  tr^es  which 
overshadowed  his  lowly  dweUing,  until  the  semblance  of  a 
field— rather  an  opening  in  the  forest  studded  with  tree 
stumps— rewarded  his  industry,  and  stimulated  him  to  stiU 
greater    efforts.      By  working   occasionally  for  the   near- 
est farmers,  the   settlers  were  enabled  to  purchase  pro- 
visions and  other  necessaries  during  the  first  months  of 
their  arduous  struggle.     The  next  year  they  burned  the 
timber  Avhich   they  had  previously   cut   down,   and  used 
their  ashes  for  manure,  and  round  the  stumps  of  what  had 
been  monarchs  of  the  forest,  they  planted  their  first  crop 
of  potat  8S  ;  the  following  year  wheat  was  added  to  their 
harvest,  and  in  a  few  years  they  began  to  have  a  farm — 
not,  it  is  true,  without  hard  work,  and,  occasionally,  bitter 
privation  ;  but  the  prize — glorious  independence — was  well 
worth   contending  for,  while   its  possession    amply   com- 
pensated for  toil  and  hardship  of  every  kind.     These  same 
men  who,  as  a  rule,  began  'without  a  sixpence  in  their 
pockets,'  were  then  in  the  possession  of  100  acres  of  land 
each,  with  from  50  to  70  acres  cleared— much  of  the  land 
not  exhibiting  the   faintest   trace   of  a   tree   having  ever 
grown  upon  it,  while  the  recently  cleared  portion  and  the 
still  Hving  forest   showed   that   the   island  had  not  long 
before  worn  one  prevailing  livery  of  green,  only  varied  in 
shade  by  the  character  of  the  timber  and  the  nature  of  its 
foHage.      The   Monaghan   settlers  had  long  since  passed 
the  log-cabin  stage,  and  were  occupying  substantial  and 
commodious  fi-ame  houses,  with  suitable  offices  ;  and  most 
of  them— these  Irishmen,  who  had  begun  the  fight  'without 


PROSraRITY  OF  THE  IRISH.  35 

a  sixpence  in  their  pock  .t '-had  bronght  np  thcnr  fainihes 
with  care  and  in  respoctabihty,  conld  drive  to  churcli  on 
Sunday  m  a  well-appointed  wa-on,  with  a  good  horse,  or 
a  pair  of  good  horses,  and  probably  had  what  they  would 
call  'a  httle  money'  laid  by  in  the  bank. 

As  a  rule,  admitting  of  only  a  rare  exception,  I  did  not 
tor  the  entire  day-during  a  circuit  of  nearly  sixty  miles 
-sec  a  single  habitation  that  was  not  decent  in  appear- 
ance or  that  did  not  evince  an  air  of  neatness  and  comfort. 
Al  were  constructed  of  timber;  but  they  were  weU  glazed, 
weU  roofed,  and  kept  as  white  and  clean  as  hme  or  paint 
could  render   them.      We  must    have   seen  hundreds   of 
farm-houses  during  our  ten  hours' tour;   and  I  can  safely 
assert  I  did  not  perceive  more  than  half  a  dozen  which  be- 
trayed  indications  of  poverty,  or  which  exhibited  an  appear- 
ance of  squalor ;  and  these  latter,  I  am  happy  to  sa;>'  were 
not  occupied  by  the  Irish.     Substantial   comfort  was  the 
prevailing  characteristic   of  dwelling   and  farm   buildin-  • 
and  cattle  and  horses  and  sheep  grazed  upon  broad  acres 
from   which   the   stumps   had   been   lately   cleared.      And 
whel^e  the  forest  no  longer  offered  a  shelter  to  the  house 
or  a  background  to  the  picture  of  rural  comfort,  a  cluster 
of  trees,  judiciously  spared  from  the  levelling  axe,  or  de- 
ibemtely  planted,  afforded  a  pleasing  variety  to  the  eye.     It 
too  frequently  happens  in  countries  which  have  been  re- 
cently reclaimed  fi-om  the  wilderness  of  the  forest,  war  is 
so  relentlessly  waged  against  trees  of  every  kind,  which  so 
long  as  they  interfere  with  the  free  use  of' the  ^^^:Z 

Tven  "ir?     1  /'  '  ^"''"^^''  *^^'^*  ^^^  ^"^  «f  barrenness, 
e  en   of  desolation,   is   imparted  to   the   landscapes;    and 

a  t  r  the  lapse  of  some  time,  the  farmer,  whether  repenting 

f  his  desolating  vigour,  or  longing  for  the  shade  or  sheltet 

wh  ch   t  stands,  those  beautiful  objects,  w^iich  adi  a  charm 
and  a  beauty  to  the  abode  of  man. 

There  are  people  at  homo  ^Adio  regard  the  position  of  the 


H 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


farniorwlio  is  witliont 'eapitiir  jia  cloapcratc.     With  thorn 
capital — their  cjipital,  wlii(!h  is  always  money — is  the  one 
thing  necessary,  and  without  wliieh  all  else  is  worthless.    It 
were  well  if  these  narrow-minded  philosophers  had  an  op- 
portunity of  estimating  at  its  right  value  the  greatest,  the 
grandest  capital  of  which  man  could  be  possessed*  especi- 
ally in  a  new  country,  in  which  nothing  has  been  done,  and 
in  which  everything  is  yet  to  be  done.     Here  is  the  green 
forest,  the  home  of  the  squirrel  or  the  wild  cat.     For  the 
liurposes  of  human  Hfc,   of  man's   enjoyment,  that  green 
forest  is  unavailing.     Without  the  labour  of  man  not  all 
the   money  in   Threadneedle   Street   or  Wall   Street   will 
suffice  to  convert  that  verdant  Avilderness  into  pasture  or 
urable  land.     The  energy,  the  industry,  the  endurance  of 
man— of  the  penniless,  or  it  may  be  fhe  despised,  emigrant, 
— these  are  worth  any  number  of  millions  of  money.     Lack 
these,  and  silver  and  gold  are  as  worthless  as  dross,  as 
valueless  as  if  they  lay  in  the  depths  of  the  mine,  or  were 
still  incorporated  with   their   rocky  matrix.     Those   Irish 
emigrants   who   landed   in    Prince    Edward  Island   forty, 
thirty,  or  twenty  years  since,  had  to  go  into  the  forest  and 
fight  their  way,  rood  by  rood,  acre  by  acre,  and  win  their 
daily  bread  by  ceaseless  labour,  until  field  was  added  to 
field,  and  the  encirchng  forest  was  driven  back  by  the  re- 
sistless force  of  human  energy — by  the  powder  of  the  same 
God-giving  capital  which  is  as  capable  of  making  the  old 
country— the  natural   home   of  that  hardy,   patient,    and 
laborious  race — bloom   like  a  garden,  as  it   is  of  hewing 
abundance,  beauty,  and  civilsation  out  of   the  wilderness 
in  other  lands. 

In  no  one  proof  of  progress  or  evidence  of  solid  and 
substantial  comfort  were  the  Irish  settlers  behind  their 
Scotch  or  EngHsh  or  native-born  neighbours.  Their  land 
w\as  in  as  good  condition,  there  was  as  great  activity  in 
clearing,  their  cattle  were  as  numerous  and  as  valuable, 
their  hay  and  their  potatoes  were  as  good  and  as  abundant ; 


A  JUSTICE  OP  THE  PEACE.  35 

there  was   not   ovoii   the    Hii«picioii  of  iuforiority  in  any 
re.spont  whatovor,  whothor  of  capacity  or  in  succosh. 

I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  interior  of  several 
of  the  tlweUings  of  my  countrynion— men  who  were  in- 
fhibted  wholly  to  their  industry  and  energy  for  all  that 
they  possessed;   and   the   interior  in   no   way  behed   the 
promise   of  the   exterior.     Homely  comfort  was  the  pre- 
vailing characteristic.      In   Ireland   tnese   men   would   be 
described  as  'warm  farmers,' or  '  strong  farmers.'     Not  a 
few  of  them  had  bought  the  fee-simple  of  their  farms  at  a 
moderate  price,  and  they  then  held  them  by  a  tit^e  as  o-ood 
an  that  by  which  Queen  Victoria  holds  her  crown.     Were 
there  nothing  in  the  name  or  in  the  manner  of  the  settler 
to  denote  his  origin,  the  little  library-tho  dozen  or  twenty 
of  Irish  books— stirring  prose  or  passionate  pootry—would- 
be  evidence  sufficient  of  his  nationality.     The  wrongs  the 
sorrows,  the  ancient  glories,  the  future 'hopes  of  Irefand^ 
these  are  the  most  acceptable  thcnnes  to  the  expatriated 
children  of  the  Irish  race. 

There  was  hfe  and  bustle  in  every  direction,  the  farmers 
being  hard  at  work  getting  in  their  potatoes,  which  were 
large  and  perfectly  sound  ;  and  in  this  agreeable  work  men 
and  women  were  activeh'  engaged. 

'Come,'  said  my  companion, "let  us  look  in  upon  a  friend 
of  mine,  who  by  the  way  is  from  your  part  of  the  country. 
He  IS  a  justice  of  the  peace  too.' 

Passing  through  a  spacious  enclosure  we  arrived  at  the 
house,  a  well-built,  comfortable-lo-oking  dWeilling,  where 
we  found  the  wife  of  its  owner,  a  comely  kindly  matron, 
with  aU  the  natural  courtesy  of  her  country.  To  the  en- 
quiry '  mere  was  himself?' she  replied  that  he  was  'out 
with  the  boys,  getting  in  the  potatoes.'  We  proceeded  in 
search  of  the  master  of  the  house,  and  had  not  gone  far 
when  we  saw  a  sturdy  strong-built  man  of  middle  ao-e 
leading  a  strong  horse  with  a  cart-load  of  potatoes  {-it 
sized  and  of  healthy  purple  hue.     He  was  one  of  the  many 


86 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


HioiiFsaiulM  of  Ills  fomitrymon  who  laiuloil  on  tho  shores  of 
Anuu'ica  without  a  ])()uii(l  in  their  })OKscasion.  Liko  t'  cm, 
his  capital  cous-iHtod  iu  his  Htrc!n<^th,  his  iutoHif^^enco,  and 
his  capiu'ity  for  labour  ;  and  so  successfully  had  ho  employed 
his  capital  that,  as  ho  was  loadinj^-  his  horse  into  his  spacious 
farm-yard  that  day,  ho  was  an  independent  man,  not  owing 
a  sliillin<>-  in  the  world,  and  haviuf^  a  round  sum  in  the 
hank,  liubbin*)-  his  clay-covered  hands  in  a  little  straw, 
and  giving  them  a  final  tcmch  on  tho  sleeve  of  his  working 
coat,  he  favourcnl  mo  with  a  vigorous  gi'asp,  such  as  would 
have  crippled  tho  fingers  of  a  fine  gentleman  ;  then,  after 
having  otl'ored  us  a  hearty  welcouio,  and  a  cordial  invi- 
tation to  partake  of  his  hospitality,  ho  fondly  enquired 
after  tho  dear  old  country.  Ho  was  greatly  '  jmt  out  * 
when  he  learned  that  we  could  not  stop — that  wo  had  to 
return  to  Charlottctown  before  night  set  in.  '  Not  stop  ! 
Oh,  that's  too  bad  entirely  !  Not  take  jDot  luck  !  not  even 
wet  your  mouth !  Oh  my !  oh  my !  that's  hard !  Well 
now,  I'm  ashamed  of  you  to  treat  a  man  so.'  But  go  wo 
should  ;  not,  however,  before  the  brief  story  of  his  early 
struggles  and  their  crowning  success  was  had  from  his  own 
lips. 

What  a  contrast  did  his  air  and  manner  offer  to  that  of 
the  Irish  farmer  in  one  particular — in  its  manly  inde- 
pendence of  bearing.  At  home,  the  tenant  is  not — at 
least  in  too  many  instances  is  not — certain  of  his  tenure, 
of  his  possession  or  occupancy  of  the  land  which  he  cul- 
tivates, and  for  which  he  pays  a  rent  that  is  absolutely 
incredible  to  the  farmer  of  Prince  Edward  Island — indeed 
of  America  throughout ;  and  manly  bearing  and  inde- 
pendence of  spirit  are  scarcely  to  be  expected  in  his  case  : 
possibly  any  special  manifestation  of  their  existence  might 
not  be  prudent  or  beneficial.  Quite  otherwise  with  his 
countryman  in  this  little  colony,  who  cannot  bo  disturbed 
in  his  possession  of  his  farm  so  long  as  he  pays  the  rent — 
about  tcnpenco  the  British  per  acre  ;  or  who  has  bought  it 


THE  LAND  QUESTION. 


87 


shores  of 
iko  t'  cm, 
nice,  and 
3  in  ployed 
Hpacious 
lot  owing 
m.  in  the 
lo  straw, 
1  working 
as  would 
len,  after 
lial  invi- 
cnquired 
put  out  * 
ve  had  to 
^ot  stoj) ! 
not  even 
1 !     WeU 

Lit    go  WO 

his  earl}'' 
I  his  own 

D  that  of 
ily  iiide- 
not — at 
3  tenure, 
L  he  cul- 
bsolutely 
— indeed 
id  inde- 
liis  case  : 
ce  might- 
with  his 
listurbed 
le  rent — 
lought  it 


out,  and  feels  that  ho  stands  upon  his  own  propcu-ty,  of 
which  ho  is  the  undisputtnl  owner :  therefore,  wliiU*  i;hid 
in  his  homely  working  suit,  witli  the  red  soil  sticking  to 
his  strong  shoes,  and  his  hands  rough  with  hcmest  toi?,  ho 
l(>oks  at  you,  and  si)eaks  to  you,  as  a  man  should  address 
hi«  fellow  man,  with  modest  dignity  and  self-respect. 

Strange  that  in  this,  one  of  the  smallest  of  British  colo- 
nies, very  grave  and  important  problems,  involving  tho 
most  cherished  of  the  so-called  'rights  of  property,' should 
be  practically  solved  in  a  manner  not  only  in  accordance 
with  the  univ  A  public  sentiment,  but  with  the  sanction 
of  the  representatives  alike  of  the  people  and  the  Crown. 

From  the  days  of  the  Gracchi  to  the  present  hour,  the 
land  (piestion—the  occupancy  or  possession  of  tho  soil- 
has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  turmoil  and  embarrassment. 
It  was  so  in  ancient  Home  ;  it  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
most  tremendous  social  convulsions  of  modern  times  ;  and, 
because  of  the  deep  interests  it  involved,  it  is  destined  to 
play  a  conspicuous  part  in  popular  movements  in  favour 
of  fundamental  changes.     Leaving  the  shores  of  Ireland, 
where  the  land  question  is  the  one  ■,  liich  most  stirs  the 
heart  of  its  people,  I  cross  the  Atlantic,  and  reach  a  small 
island  of   which    not  very  many  in  the  old  country  have 
ever  heard ;    and,  to  my  amazement,  I  find  this  irrepres- 
sible land  question  the  question  of  the  colony,  though  for 
the  moment  absorbed  in  the  more  immediate  and  pressing 
topics  of  Confederation  or  Non-Confederation,     I  had  sup° 
posed  tliat  a  '  Tenant  League '  was  one  of  those  things  of 
which  I  had  probably  heard  the  last,  at  least  for  some'time 
to  come ;  but  I  learn  with  no  little  surprise  that  the  most 
troublesome    movement^    or    organisation,    which    Prince 
Edward    Island    had    witnessed   within    recent   years  was 
known  by  that  title,  and  that  its  origin  was  owing  to  a 
systematic  opposition  to  the  payment  of  rent.     The"  Irish 
demand,  during  the  existence  of^ts  Tenant  League,  li^vcr 
went  beyond  'fixity  of  tenure,'  possession  of  the  land  by 


ss 


THE  llirsil  IN  AMERICA. 


::!li;!l 


tlio  io„a,it  SO  Icn-  us  lie  fiilimcd  his  primary  obligation  of 
paying  Ins  stipulntod  rout. 

Struck  by  tlH  .iinilarit^'  of  ilie  naino,  I  enquired  of  an 
iiitollio(3nt  Iricnd  wliat  wore  tlie  exact  objects  of  the  colo- 
nial organisation. 

'Oh;  rephed  my  friend,  'it  M'as  a  combination  to  get 
rid  of  rent :  the  people  here  don't  like  the  notion  of  pay- 
ing rent ;  they  are  not  satisfied  until  they  have  the  land 
in  their  own  possession.'  The  answer  was  calculated  to  put 
my  moderate  opinions  to  the  blush. 

*  Then  I  suppose  the  rents  are  rather  oppressive '?  What 
are  they  on  the  average '? ' 

'As  for  that,  the  rent  is  but  a  shilling  an  acre  ' 
'A  what?'  said  I. 

'A  shiUing  an  acre-yes,'  a  shilling  an  acre,'  was  the  tran- 
quil reply,  made  as  much  in  answer  to  my  stare  of  astonish- 
ment as  to  the  exclamation  with  which  it  was  accompanied. 
'^\hy  how,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  could  any  one 
object  to  such  a  rent  as  that—a  rent  inconceivably  smaU 
to  one  coming  from  a  country  where  the  rent  per  acre  is 
twenty  times,  thirty  times,  even  lifty  times,  nay,  in  some 
instances,  nearly  one  hundred  times  greater  ? ' 

'  AVeU,  as  compared  to  rents  in  the  old  country,  it  is  no 
doubt  low ;  but  you  see  the  tenants  took  the  land  in  its 
wilderness  state,  and  they  had  to  do  everything  to  it  to  make 
it  what  it  now  is.  And  the  rent,  small  as  it  may  appear 
to  you— 5Z.  the  100  acres— comes  heavy  enough ;  and  when 
there  are  arrears  falling  due  besides,  it  is  a  serious  thing  I 
can  teU  you.  But  smaU  or  large,  our  people  have  an  a\^er- 
sion  to  paying  rent ;  they  want  to  have  the  land  thei?-  own, 
an  1  fhey  are  willing  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  it  too.' 

A  shilling  an  acre !  I  could  scarcely  reahse  to  my  mind 
the  idea  of  this  being  a  burden,  or  its  payment  a  griev- 
ance ;  still  to  many  the  burden  was  felt  to  be  intolerable, 
and  the  grievance  one  of  real  magnitude.  And,  as  the 
BtrangcBt  conlirmation  of  the  existence  of  this  feeling,  there 


WHAT  THE  TENANT  CLAIMS. 


39 


is  fclie  policy  of  the  leadin^^  public  men  of  tlio  colony,  Mliich 
is  to  free  the  actual  cultivators  from  the  obli^ration  of  rent- 
paying,  by   converting  the   occupying   tenant  into  a  fee- 
simple  proprietor.     Already  much  had  been  done  m  pur- 
suance of  this  popular  pohcy.     Extensive  properties— mostly 
held  by  absentees— had  been  purchased  by  the  State,  and 
resold  to  the    occupiers   on    easy  terms,  ranging  fi-om  5s. 
to  lOx.  or  12.S.  per  acre.     The  last  great  property'^thus  pur- 
chased by  the  Government,  with    the  view  of  being  re- 
sold, belonged  to  the  representatives  of  the  late  Sir  Samuel 
Cnnard.     It  consisted  of  212,000  acres,  partly  reclaimed 
and  partly  in  the  wilderness  state,  and  was  sold  for  53,000/. 
British  money  ;  the  purchase  money  including  a  consider- 
able sum  in  arrears,  generously  flung  into  the  bargain,  or 
indeed  practically  given  up.     There  being  no  difTerence  of 
opinion  with  respect  to  the  policy  of  converting  tenancy  into 
fee-simple  proprietorship,  and  the  only  dispute  being  as  to 
the  best  or  speediest  mode  by  which  this  ccmversion  can  be 
accomplished,   it  is  probable   that   a  short   time   will  be 
sufficient   to    bring   about   a   satisfactory   solution   of    the 
'difficulty 'which  has  its  origin  in  the  Land  Question  of 
Prince  Edward  Island. 

If  the  claim  to  be  released  from  the  obligation  of  pay- 
ing rent  could  in  any  case  be  regarded  as  fair  and  equit- 
able, it  would  be  so  when  urged  by  the  cultivators  of 
Prince  Edward  Island  ;  as  it  was  they,  and  they  alone,  who 
by  their  labour  changed  the  whole  face  of  the  country,  re- 
deeming it  from  the  forest  whicli  at  no  distant  time  covered 
the  land  fi-om  shore  to  shore.  About  one  hundred  years 
ago  the  island  was  parcelled  out  to  about  as  many  pro- 
prietors, on  certain  specified  conditions,  the  principal  of 
which  was,  to  procure  settlers,  with  a  view  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  and  the  population  of  the  colony,  and  also 
to  pay  quit  rent  to  the  Crown.  These  obhgiiions,  the 
conditions  on  whicli  the  estates  w(>re  originally  -rakted 
were   generaUy  disregarded ;   to   such   an  extent,"indeed' 


H  ' 


M 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMKKICA. 


were  they  d,.s,-ogardo<I,  that,  some   forfeitures  were  made 
and  these  forio.tures  ,vo„ld  have  been  exteurively  enforced 
.ul  n,,t  the  defaulting  proprietors  sufficient  influence  with 
the  Home  Government  to  retain  their  property,  notwith- 
s  an<hng  that  they  had  failed  in  many  and  fl^gi-ant  in- 
s  anees  to  redeem  their  part  of  the  original  compact.     So 
htUo  vas  done  in  the  way  of  obtaining  settlors,  that  at  the 
connneneement  of  the  present   century  the  population  of 
the  whole  island  did  not  exceed  0,000  souls;  and  it  was 
not  „nt,l    he  year  1830-35  that  any  extensive  emigration 
fr..m  the  United  Kingdom  took  place.    In  1832  the  popula- 
tion was  32,000 ;  it  ivas  80,532  by  the  last  census  ;  and  in  18CG 
It  was  rather  triumphantly  estimated  at  or  neoi-  00,000 

About  two  years  since,  the  anti-rent  feehng  resolved  it- 
self mto  an  active  organisation,  liaving  its  centre  in  Char- 
lottetown,  the  capital  and  seat  of  government.  Who  were 
Its  leaders,  or  by  whom  it  was  originated,  is  of  httle  con- 
sequence to  know.  I  have  heard  it  stated  that  the  Irish 
^vcre  no  among  its  active  promoters  in  the  first  instance, 
the  Enghsh  and  Scotch  settlers  taking  the  lead.     But  the 

wT^-H  "'^  ''"r  '"'°  ""^  ^"'^''''  "^  "'«y  ^ynipathised 
heaitilywith  Its  object,  which  was  not  so  much  to  abohsh 
the  payment  of  reit,  as  to  compel  the  proprietors  to  sell 
heir  estates  on  fair  terms.     Passive  resistance  was  even- 
tually adopted  m  certain  districts,  the  representatives  of 
the  ei«l  power  being  coolly  set  at    defiance,   or  rather 
aughed  at  by  the  sturdy  colonists.     Seeing  the  inability  of 
0  e  em  force  to  cope  with  what  a  prosecuting  crown  lawyer 
would  describe  as  'a  conspiracy  against  property  at  once 
wi,  e.«pread  and  forniidable,'  it  was  deemed  advlable  to 
sc,  d  t ,  the  mam  land  for  two  companies  of  infantry,  there 
ot  then  being  a  single  soldier  in  the  colony.     Backed  by 
ths  armed  force,  the  law  was  vindicated,  a  few  individuals 
o  ng  inade  the  victims  of   their  bold  resistance,  or  legal 

;!±7';:':r\,/  '\^<^"™'  ^-r-  --  to  an  end  ;  but^s 
*"''•'  ""^  ^""^"S  ■"  which  it  had  it;  origin  was  stiU 


THE  TENANT  LEAGUE  AND  THE  GOVERNMENT.    41 

potent,  inasmucli  as  it  reaUy  represented  the  universal 
sentiment  of  the  colony,  an  extract  or  two  from  the  pubhc 
records  may  be  useful. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  ISGG,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
when  opening  the  legislative  session,  used  these  words  in 
m  his  'sjDeech.' 

The  general  prosperity  of  the  past  year  has  been  marred  by  the 
cm  cLslurbances  .vhich  took  place  in  several  parts  of  th  s  co'o  y 
Misled  by  Ignorant  or  designing  men,  tenants  were  induced  to  lb -m 
themselves  into  an  association  with  the  avowed  Intention  of  withholding 
payment  ot  t  e,r  rents,  unless  their  landlords  consented  to  sell  thei^ 
lands  on  such  terms  as  this  association  chose  to  dictate 

The  la^v  was  openly  and  systematically  set  at  defiance,  and  it  beeame 
necessary  to  use  extraordinary  measures  to  enforce  it  A  rlu  si  io^ 
was  therefore  made  for  a  detachment  of  Her  Majesty's  troof^.   o  aid    he 

StSS."^  ^"""^  "  ''' '-  '-  --  --^  ^-"r^ 

But  as  if  to  show  that  the  popular  demand  was  not 
devoid  of  reason  and  justice,  his  Excellency  made  the  fol- 
lowing important  announcement  :— 

'I  have  recently  concluded  the  purclmse  of  another  estate 
from  one  of  the  proprietors.     It  is  my  intention  to  continue  to 
buy  out  the  rights  of  the  landowners,  lohenever  lam  enabled  to 
do  so  on  reasonable  terms.' 
And  on  the  11th  of  May,  when  the  short  session  was 
formally  closed,  the  representative  of  the  Crown  thus  pro- 
claimed the  triumph,  if  not  of  the  League,  at  least  of  the 
popular  demand  : — 

Mr  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly  • 
^    'The  measure  by  which  you  have  extended  my  powers 
ot  purchasing  land,  has  my  hearty  concurrence;  and  I  trust 
that,  under  its  provisions,  I  may  be  enabled  to  purchase  large 
estates  from  the  projm'etors.' 
In  the  '  debate  on  the  address '  many  things  were  said  on 
both  sides  of  the  House  which  would  have  been  in  the  last 
degree  startling  if  uttered  in  the  senate-chamber  of  the 
mother  country.    A  few  extracts  wHl  suffice. 


{J 


12 


THE  inSII  IN  AMERICA. 


!9i 


First  from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Coles,  the  Leader  of  tlie  0]v^o, 
sition,  who,  referring  to  a  proposition  made  by  the  late 
Duke  of  Newr-astle,  as  Colonial  Minister,  says  :— 

The  Duke's  own  proposals,  however,  ought  to  have  satinfled  the 
Government.  His  scheme  was  that  if  a  tenant  had  regularly  paid 
his  rent,  under  his  lease,  for  IG  years,  he  should  be  entitled  to  the 
freehold  of  his  flirra  at  16  years'  purchase ;  if  for  10  years,  for  10 
years'  purchase ;  and  if  for  8  years,  for  8  years'  purchase  ;  that  was 
accordmg  to  the  actual  interest  which  the  proprietor  had  in  the 
leasehold,  as  evidenced  by  the  amount  of  rent  which  he  had  received 
on  account  of  it.  At  the  time  it  was  submitted  he  thought  the 
scheme  was  a  fair  one,  and  he  thought  so  still ;  but  our  Govm-nment 
thought  otherwise,  rejected  it,  and  brought  forward  and  carried  their 
I'ifteen  Years'  Purchase  Bill. 

The  Sohcitor-Genoral,  the  official  organ  of  the  Govern- 
ment,  defends  the  Fifteen  Years'  Purchase  BiU,  which, 
though  derided  for  its  shortcomings  by  the  Leader  of  the 
Opposition,  would  be  regarded  in  the  British  House  of 
Commons  as  a  measure  of  sweeping  confiscation  worthy 
of  the  French  Eevoliition,  or  the  days  of  Jack  Cade.  That 
learned  gentleman  says  : — 

In  every  Session  of  the  Legislature  since  the  passage  of  the  Fifteen 
Years'  Purchase  Bill  have  the  Opposition  assailed  the  Government,  on 
the  assumed  grounds  that  that  Bill  was  no  boon  to  the  tenantry,  was 
unacceptable  to  a  majority  of  them,  and  could  not  by  any  possibility 
be  made  advantageous  to  them.    He,  however,  confidently  maintained 
that  the  Bill  was  a  handsome  instalment  of  all  the  benefits  promised 
to    the   tenantry,   by   the   party   in   power,   through   legislative   action 
with  respect  to  the  Land  Question.     By  means  of  it  large  arrears  of 
rent   have  been  expunged  from   the  hooks  of  proprietors,  and  declared 
irrecoverable,  as  against  all  tenants  toho  shall  avail  themselves  of  the 
provisions  of  the  Bill  for  the  purchase  of  the  fee-simple  of  their  farms. 
Whilst  the  tenants'  improvements  were  in  existence  they  were  a  suffl- 
ciert  security  for  the  recovery  of  all   arrears   of  rent.     On  one-third 
of   Lot  M,   the   property  of   Sir  E.   Cunard,   the  tenants  by  having 
ivailed  themselves  of  the  advantages  extended  to  them  by  that  Bill^ 
had   had   over   ]MOl.   of  arrears  wiped   off.  every  farthing   of  which' 
could   have   been   recovered    by   thf   proprietor,   because  the   tenants 
were,  in  reality,  men  of  wealth.     It  was   the  same  on   the   Snllivan 
property      There  were  many  tenants  upon  the  estates  affected  by  the 


'CONFISCATION'  PROFITABLE  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT.     48 

Filtoon  Years'  Piirclmse  Dill,  to  whom,  before  the  passing  of  it,  the  nro- 
pnetors  would  not  consent  to  sell  the  fee-simple  of  their  farms,  even  at 
20s.  or  30.9.  per  acre  ;  hut  those  proprietors  were  now  compelled  to  part 
loilh  the  fee-simple  of  their  leased  lands  at  15  years'  purchase. 

With  tliG  foUowing  passage  from  the  speech  of  the  Hou. 
J.  C.  Pope,  who  must  be  described  as  the  Prime  Minister 
of  this  sufficieutly-governed  colony,  these  extracts  may  be 
closed.  Nor  is  it  the  least  significant  of  the  entire.  He 
shows  that  the  purchase  and  re-sale  of  the  great  properties 
has  been  a  paying  speculation  for  the  Government ;  and 
he  adds  his  official  testimony  to  the  universaHty  of  the 
feehng  in  favour  of  the  conversion  of  tenancies  into  fee- 
simple— or,  as  he  emphatically  expresses  it,  'the  freeing  of 
the  country  from  the  burden  of  the  leasehold  or  rent-pavin^r 
system.'  ^   '^    * 

'Nearly  ah  the  money  which  the  Conservatives  have  ex- 
'pended  in  the  purchase  of  proprietary  estates  has  been 
'refunded.  Every  estate  which  we  ham  bought  has  jJroved 
'a  paying  speculation.  We  have  had  a  i^rofit  upon  every 
'one  of  them.  I  think  the  Government  will  he  justified  in 
'purchasing  all  the  estates  they  can,  and  carrying  on,  as 
'quickly  as  possible,  the  freeing  of  the  country  from  the  bur- 
'then  of  the  leasehold  or  rent-p)aying  system;  and  whether 
'1  may  be  in  the  Government  or  out  of  it,  I  will  do  all 
'in  my  power  to  bring  about  so  desirable  a  consumma- 
'  tion.' 

So  much  for  the  Land  Question  of  the  British  Colony  of 
Prince  Edward  Island,  which  Sir  Bulwer  Lytton  was  as 
anxious  to  settle  on  satisfactory  terms  to  the  colonists  as 
was  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  To  statesmen  who  recoil 
with  dismay  from  the  least  invasion  of  the  'rights  of 
property '  it  may  afford  matter  for  useful  reflection.*'  - 

Before  dismissing  the  subject,  I  may  add,  on  the  author- 
ity of  men  of  all  parties,  classes,  and  positions,  that  not 
only  are  the  Irish  amongst  the  most  thrifty,  energetic,  and 
improvmg  of  the  agricultural  population,  but  they  are  re- 


44 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA, 


markable  for  their  punctuality  as  rent-payers.  I  had  no 
opportunity  of  visiting  more  than  two  of  the  settlements 
exclusively  Irish;  but  I  was  generally  assured  that  the 
other  Irish  settlements  were  in  every  respect  equal  to  those 
I  had  seen. 

While  I  was  in  the  island,  an  Irishman,  who  had  not 
many  years  before  come  out  as  a  labourer,  sold  a  farm  for 
1,000Z.,  retaining  another  worth  double  that  amount.  *I 
came  out  here  with  little  in  my  pocket,'  said  an  Irishman 
from  Munster,  from  the  borders  of  Cork  and  Tipperary, 
*  and  I  thank  God  I  am  now  worth  over  2,000Z.'  This  was 
said,  not  boastingly,  but  in  gratitude  to  Providence  for  the 
blessing  which  had  attended  his  humble  industry.  '  I  had 
nothing  to  depend  on  but  God  and  my  own  four  bones/ 
said  another  successful  Irishman  to  me  in  Prince  Edward 
Island ;  and  this  form  of  phrase,  so  expressive  of  self-reli- 
ance and  trust  in  the  Divine  assistance,  I  heard  repeated 
by  men  of  the  same  persevering  and  pious  race  throughout 
the  United  States  and  the  British  Colonies.  'I  had  no 
one  but  God  to  hel^)  me,'  is  a  common  expression  with  the> 
Irish  everywhere. 

The  sums  mentioned  as  the  results  of  honest  industry, 
and  self-reliance  of  the  most  elevated  character,  though 
respectable  in  amount,  by  no  means  indicate  the  position 
obtained  by  many  Irishmen  in  the  colony.  There  are  in- 
stances of  success  in  trade  to  which  the  possession  of  a 
couple  of  thousand  pounds  would  be  but  a  small  affiiir 
indeed.  However,  the  moderate  success  and  modest  inde- 
pendence of  a  considerable  number  in  a  community  is  far 
more  indicative  of  general  prosperity  than  the  extraordi- 
nary success  and  the  large  possessions  of  a  few ;  and  it  is 
satisfactory  to  know  that  the  generally  good  position  of  the 
Irish  in  this  small  colony  is  not  only  a  fact  well  established, 
but  that  it  is  admitted  to  be  the  result  of  integrity,  intelli- 
gence, and  p-ood  conduct. 


III 


A  SCOTCH  BISHOP'S  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  IRISH. 


45 


The  tcstiiiioii}'  of  their  Scotch  Bishop  is  not  to  be  ovcr- 
lookecl. ;  it  is  hououriiig  to  them  and  to  him  : 

'They,   the   Irish,  are   a   thrifty,   industrious,    energetic 

*  class  of  peoi)le,  of  a  perseverance  that  would  be  worthy  of 

*  imitation.     They  keep  pace  in  all  respects— in  intelligence 
'and   education,   in  comfort   and  independence — with    all 

*  other  settlers. 

;As   for   the  Irish   girls,    there    could    not  be   a    more 
modest,  chaste,  and  well-conducted  class  than  the  Catho- 

*  hcs  of  the  town  and  country.     A  cause  of  scandal  is  of  the 

*  very  rarest  occurrence  among  them. 

'  The  Irish  are  economical  when  they  settle  down  on  the 
'land.      The  Hve  poorly  at  first,   then  save  money,  and 

*  acquire  property  where  they  can. 

'What  they  are  they  have  made  themselves.     For  one 

*  who  came  out  with  a  dollar,  ten  have  come  out  with  a 
shilling.' 

And  testimony  such  as  the  foregoing  is,  to  my  know- 
not  without  the   highest   official    sanction    in    the 
colony.  * 

'  The  spiritual  provision  for  the  CathoUc  population  of 
the  island,  now  estimated  ac  40,000,  French— Scotch,  and 
Irish— is  steadily  on  the  increase.  There  are  42  churdies 
and  18  priests,  besides  three  convents  of  nuns,  having  the 
care  of  academies  and  schools,  in  which  the  children  are 
carefully  instructed  in  their  faith. 

Two  buildings  in  Charlottetown  attest  more  eloquently 
than  words  the  history  and  progress  of  the  CathoHc  Church 
in  the  colony.  The  one,  now  used  as  a  school,  denotes,  by 
certain  lines  on  its  roof,  that  it  had  been  more  than  once 
enlarged  while  used  as  the  only  church  for  Catholic  wor- 
ship in  the  capital— in  fact,  the  cathedral.  The  other  is 
the  existhig  cathedral,  a  handsome  and  imposing  structure, 
furnished  with  a  valuaole  organ,  and  capable  of  accom- 
modating  the   Catholics   of    the   town,   in   number   about 


ledge, 


46 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


fj.j  .-III 


2,500,  who,  with  but  a  few  exceptions,  are  Irish,  or  their 
-    clcsccndants  of  the  first  generation. 

To  the  French,  of  whom  some  were  the  Acadians  who  had 
been  so  ruthlessly  banished  from  their  home  in  Nova  Scotia 
was   the  gift  of  the  faith  due  in  Prince  Edward  Island.' 
Then  came  the  Highland  Scotch,  strong  in  their  fidchty 
to  the  religion  of  their  gaUant  forefathers;  and  lastly  the 
Irish,  who  brought  their  numbers  and  their  zeal  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  Church  and  add  to  its  importance  and  influence 
in  the  colony.     The  first  missionary  was  Dr.  McEachern  a 
Scotch  priest,  educated  at  Valadohd  in  Spain,  who  came  to 
the  island  after  the  first  Highland  immigration.     His  was 
an  exten.nve  sheep-fokl  and  many  a  weary  journey  he  had 
to  make  in  looking  after  his  widely-scattered  flock.     New 
Brunswick   and    Cape  Breton  were   included    within  his 
jurisdiction,  and  frequently  the  faithful  from  Nova  Scotia 
crossed  the  sea  to  seek  religious  consolation  at  his  hands 
This  fir.st  Bishop  of  Charlottetown  was  a  man  of  ener-y 
and  resources ;  for  without  any  aid,  save  that  which  the 
zeal   and   piety   of  a   small   and   much   discouraged   com- 
munity  supplied,   he   established    a   school,   in   which   he 
educated   two    priests,   who    formed    the    nucleus   of    the 
future    ecclesiastical    estabhshment  of   the    island,   which 
gave  eighteen  priests  and  two  bishops  to  the  church.     It 
having  accomplished  its  great  work,  the  Seminary  of  St. 
Andrews  was  closed;   and  in  its  place  there  is   now  an 
admirable   institution,   St.   Dunstan's   College,   which  was 
erected  by  Dr.   McDonald,  who  devoted  all  his  means  to 
that  praiseworthy  object.     This   coUege   is   suppHed  with 
every  modern    requirement  and  appliance,   and  is  under 
the  able  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Angus  McDonald,  a  man 
well  qualified  for  his  important  task,  and  whose  title  of 
'Father  Angus'   is    as   affectionately  pronounced    l)y   the 
most   Irish    of    the    Irish    as   if  it   were    'Father  Larry' 
or    '].i^ather    Pat.'      Tlie    Irish   love    their    own    priests; 
but   let   tlie   priest   of    any   nationality—Enghsh,    Scotch,' 


ill 


THE  IIIISII  AND  TIIEIIl  PASTORS. 


47 


French,  Bel^nan,  or  Aniorican— only  exhibit  sympathy  with 
tlieni,  or  treat  them  with  kindness  and  affection,  and  at 
once  he  is  as  thorouohly  'their  j^riest '  as  if  he  had  been 
born  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne  or  the  Shannon.     '  Father 
Dan '  McDonald,  the  Vicar-Genoral,  is  a  striking  instance 
of  the  attachment  borne  by  an  Irish  congregation  to  a  good 
and   kindly  priest;   and   I  now   the   more   dwell   on   this 
thorough  liision  of  priest  and  people  in  love  and  sympathy, 
because   of  having  witnessed   with   pain   and   sorrow  tlio 
injurious  results,    ahke    to    my   countrymen    and    to   tho 
Church,  of  forcing  upon  almost  exclusively  Irish  congre- 
gations clergymen  who,  from   their   imperfect  knowledge 
o^  the  EngUsh  tongue,  could  not  for  a  long  time  make 
tiiemsclves  understood  by  those  over  whom  it  was  essential 
they   should    acquire    a    beneficial    influence.      This    was 
glaringly  the  case  in  one  Western  diocese  of  the  United 
States,  where   its   existence  was  deplored  to  me  by  good 
men   deeply  devoted   to  their  faith.      But  sympathy  soon 
renders  the  most  imperfect  English  iiiteUigible  to  the  affec- 
tionate Irish  heart,  and  binds  the  priest  to  the  congrega- 
tion in  those  sacred  relations  which  constitute  the  strength 
of  the  Church,  and  secure  the  safety  of  the  flock. 

A  fact  of  which  I  heard,  and  an  incident  which  I  wit- 
nessed, will  afford  an  idea  of  the  vitality  of  the  Cathohc 
Church  in  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  exhibit  the  affec- 
tionate respect  in  which  Irishmen  in  that  distant  colony 
hold  those  rehgious  ladies  who  devote  their  lives  to  the 
education  of  the  young. 

xit  Tignish,  where  the  Catholic  element  is  very  strong, 
and  the  Irish  are  in  the  proportion  'of  one-third  to  the 
French,  there  is  a  beautiful  church,  of  stone  and  brick, 
which  w^ould  do  credit  to  any  city  in  the  world ;  and  this 
cliurch  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  12,000/.,  in  the  space  of 
fourteen  months !  This  church,  as  the  bishop  stated  with 
just  pride,  '  was  the  spontaneous  and  voluntary  offering  of 
the  people.'     Thig  was  not  the  only  effort  recently  m^ade 


>' 


48 


THE  IIIISII  IN  AMERrCA. 


Ilillliil 


by  tho  higli-apirited  citizens  of  TigniHli ;  for  in  18G5  a 
spaciouH  convent,  75  feet  in  lenjrth  by  40  in  depth,  and 
three  stories  high,  the  material  of  brick,  was  erected  in  the 
same  phuie. 

Among  tho  other  convontnal  estabhshments  of  Prince 
Edward  Island  is  a  branch   of  the   famous  Congregation 
of    Notre  Dame.     Besides   a  boarding    school    and    day 
school  for  paying  pupils,  these  Sisters  also  conduct  a  free 
school,  wliich  is  at  some  distance  from  the  house  in  which 
they  reside.      I  here    remarked   with    surprise,   from   its 
novelty  to  one  who  had  just  left  a  country  in  which  reli- 
gious distinctions  are  so  strongly  marked,  that  Protestants 
of  various  denominations,  including  those  most  prominent 
in  their  hostihty  to  the  CathoHc  Church,  send  their  chil- 
dren to  be  instructed  by  the  Sisters.     As  I  passed  through 
America,  I  found  that  this  custom  was  almost  universal. 
There   are   very  grave   reasons  which   induce   parents  to 
obtain  for  their  children  tho  watchful  care  and  salutary 
influence  of  religious  women,  themselves  models  of  gentle- 
ness and  refinement ;  and  whatever  the  natural  prejudices 
of  the  parents,  tho  desire  to   see  their  children  refined, 
cultivated,  and  good,  is  still  stronger.     In  some  communi- 
ties the  motives  which  impel  parents  to  prefer  the  teaching 
of  'the  Sisters'  are  more  pressing  and  powerful  than  in 
others ;  but  though  the  most  violent  opposition  is  oftered 
to  the  practice  in  many  instances,  it  would  appear  to  be 
generally  on  the  increase,  and  even  regarded  as  a  matter 
of  legitimate  precaution  on  the  part  of  those  who  adopt  it. 
In  Charlottotown  there  is  no  school  which  can  in  any  way 
approach  in  exceUence  tho  academy  of  the  Ladies  of  Notre 
Dame  ;  which  fact  is  of  itself  sufficient  explanation  of  what 
would  at  first  excite  some  surprise.     The  Ladies  of  Notre 
Dame  are  not  cloistered  nuns.      Bound  for  life  by  their 
vows,  like  other  Orders,  they  can  go  about,  visit,  and  teach 
m  schools  not  under  the  roof  of  their  convent. 
The  Sisters  in  Charlottotown,  as  I  have  said,  teach  in  a 


A  GRACEFUL  GIFT. 

exi)eilition  and  safotv  Hio  rni\.  v       "'^^^^^^^^  ^vith  greater 
brevity.     Tlio  rrift  w«<,  ,-1L      i  ^  simplicity  and 

ti>at  in  whic  if[.n;~ ::;  ""^t--^'"*^  ^i-^  to 

gracoM  wmth  on   behl  of    L  7"  '^'t^T^'^^'Soa  with 

and  whore,  to  „.«  t^'tXZ' ITosZ  tt'o'  ^"^^^■ 
'tte/am«-scfemo„r /i,rA«to'    ^0^1?!  Governor, 

out  the  British  provine^   I  f™'^'  ^^^^r.  '^s  through- 


t 


00 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  ni. 

Scene  in  tlio  Lorda— Tho  THhIi  Race  despaired  of— Tlio  Settle- 
ment of  Jolinville,  New  Bninswicic— We  enter  tlio  Settlement— 
The  First  Man  and  Woman— The  Second  Man  and  Woman  -Celtic 
Energy— Jimmy  M'Allister— Mr.Reilly  from  IJally  vourney— How 
the  Man  of  no  Capital  ^ets  along — 0\w  Cause  of  Succchh— Mass 
iu  tlio  Forest— Neither  Rent  uor  •  Gale  '—Other  SettlementH. 


ON  a  certain  evening  of  March  18GG,  there  was  a  more 
than  usual  attendance  of  peers  in  the  House  of  Lords  ; 
and,  attracted  by  the  subject  for  discussion,  many  members 
of  the  Commons  occupied  the  bar,  or  that  j)ortion  of  the 
gallery  reserved  for  their  accommodation.  Among  the 
strangers  who  were  present,  was  the  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop  of  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  an  Irishman,  but  for 
nearly  forty  years  a  resident  in  that  colony.  Earl  Grey 
had  given  notice  of  his  intention  to  submit  a  series  of 
resolutions  in  reference  to  the  state  of  Ireland  ;  and  the 
largeness  of  the  attendance  was  owing  more  to  the  gravity 
of  the  subject  than  even  to  the  fame  of  the  statesman  by 
whom  it  was  to  be  introduced.  With  that  grave  and  im- 
pressive statement,  which  belongs  to  the  Parliamentary 
records  of  the  country,  this  work  has  no  concern  ;  a  little 
incident  which  occurred  during  its  delivery  being  the  only 
justification  for  its  fnention  in  these  pages. 

Standing  immediately  near  the  stranger,  was  a  gentle- 
man who  displayed  marked  courtesy  to  the  *  American ' — 
as  the  Bishop  simply  represented  himself  to  be — pointing 
out  to  him  the  leading  peers  on  either  side,  and  explaining 
such  of  the  forms  and  modes  of  procedure  as  were  likely 
to  be  useful  to  one  who  was  for  the  first  time  witness  of  a 
debate  in  the  Lords.  In  the  course  of  his  statement  Earl 
Grey  necessarily  referred  to  the   Emigration   movement, 


THE  mrsil  RACE  DESI'AIItED  OF.  (j 

Which  he  doploroa  a»  a  groat  calamiky-a  regret,  I  may 
remark.  Hharod  .u  by  the  wisest  atatosn.en  and  truest 
patuutH  of  the  day;  though  this  annual  wasting  away  of 
the  8treugth  and  vory  lif„  of  a  nation  in  rog^rdcd  „°t 
merely  with  incUfferonco,  but  with  positive  ^.tisfac'ti": 
by  eha  low  thmkers  and  falne  judges  of  the  character  ani 
capabihty  of  the  Irish  race. 

'My  dear  Sir,'  said  the  courteous  neighbour  of  the 
Cathohc  Bishop,  'I  do  not  at  aU  agree  with  hi.s  lord.ship  ; 
on  the  contrary  my  deUbcrate  conviction  is,  unless  the 
Irish  go  away  of  their  own  accord,  or  are  got  rid  of  in 
some  manner  or  other,  and  are  replaced  by  o„r  poople-I 
mean  the  Enghsh  or  the  Scotch-nothing  good  can  ever 
be  done  with  that  unhappy  conntry  • 

eni^PrH"°7'''t"  '''"'  deliberately  expressed  was  honestly 
entei  tamed.  There  was  no  hostiUty,  no  anger,  no  passion! 
but  a  doep-eeated  bdief  in  the  truth  of  the  tex-rible  sen- 
tence thus  tranquilly  pronounced  on  a  whole  nation  A 
similar  opinion  has  been  too  frequently  expressed  or  in- 
sinuated in  the  public  press  of  England,  not  perhaps  so  fre- 
quently of  late  as  in  former  yeai-s;  and,  shocking  as  the 

who  caU  themselves   Irishmen,    to   indorse    this   insolent 
slander  by  their  unnatural  verdict. 

f,v!^r'  ",  ""^  T"  '"  *''"  "''''^^^y  """'^l  «>ost  prac- 
tically and  completely  refute  the  scandalous  proposition 
It  was  the  Catholic  Bishop  to  whom,  in  the  dust  of  the 
evening,  and  while  the  gorgeous  chamber  was  yet  in  the 
shadows  of  tw-ilight,  his  courteous  informant  tlL  vouch! 
safed  this  candid  opinion.  That  same  day,  a  few  hours 
before  he  hstened  to  this  sweepmg  condemnation  »f  the 
lush  race.  Dr.  Sweeny  had  described  to  me  the  extra- 
oidmary  success  which  had  attended  his  efforts  to  settle 
tt^  Irish  on  the  soil  of  New  Brunswick;  and  how,  in  the 

r.««  •    ti       v.  ^Oi-ig  viifliciuues,  whicii  scarcely  any 

one  in  the  old  country  could  imagine,  much  less  appreciate. 


62 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMKIilCA. 


* 


tho  samo  Irish,  of  Avliom  tlio  froiiileman  in  tbo  Housi^  of 
Lords  so  utterly  dcspjiirod,  iiud,  in  uu  uli.iost   incrcHlihly 
H  lort  .space  of  time,  won  their  way  to  rude  comfort  anil 
absoluto   indc>pendenco.      In   that   interview  I  accpiainted 
Uo  Bishop  of  my  intention  to  make  a  tour  throu-h  tlio 
J>ntush  Provnicos   and   tho   States  ;    .i^ul  before  wo   s(M)a- 
rut(>d   It  was   arranged    that   I   should   spcciaUy  visit   his 
Most  settlement  of  our  unjustly  depreciated  countrymen. 
Ihe  appointment  made  in  London  in  tho  month  of  March 
was  faithfully  kept  in  Now  Brunswick  in  the  month  of  Oc- 
tober ;  and  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  tho  2r,th  of  that 
month,  tho  Bishop  and  I  were  ni  route  for  the  settlomont 
a  distance  of  nearly  2{)()  miles  from  the  city  of  St  John       ' 
After  liavino-   passed  the  first  ovenino-  ,,t  Frederickton, 
the  capital  of  New  I^runswick,  where  many  Irish  are  com- 
for  ably  circunistaiuvd,  and  steadily  increasing  iii  wealth, 
und  the  second  at  Woodstock,  where  there  is  also  a  fair 
pv(^portion  of  the  race  ecpnvUy  tliriving,  we  set  out  at  an 
early  liour  on  tho  foUowing  morning  for  tho  settlement  of 
Johnville,    a  distance    of  thirty-iivo    miles,  not  of   rail  or 
water,  but  of  rough  road  ;   and  about  noon  on  Saturday 
wo  were  entering  the  forest  avenue  which  led  to  the  utto/- 
most  boundary  on  the  western  side.     The  road  over  which 
we   travelled    had  to   me    all    the  charm   of   novelty,  and 
would  have  appeared  picturesque  and  striking  to  any  one 
from    the  old    country,  for  it   resembled    rather  a  cutting 
through  a  vast  and  ancient  wood  than  an  ordinary  hio-h- 
way      The  Bishop  was,  as  I  thought,  unnecessarily  enthu- 
siastic in  his  praise  of  the  new  road,  which,  I  must  confess 
I  thought  altogether  fatal  to  personal  comfort,  and  in  the 
last   degree   trying   to   the    safety  of   the  springs   of    our 
volnclo,  though  the  carriage  had  been  specially  adapted  to 
meet   such    trifling   contingencies    as  deep  ruts,  profound 
hollows,  occasional   chasms,  with    an  abundant  variety  of 
watcrcour.es  roughly  covered  over  with  logs,  not  always 
matched  with   tho   nicest   care.      I  appreciated   the  road 


Tim  SETTI.miENT  OP  JOIlNVil.J.U. 


69 

fr<.m  a  Enr„pcan  poiut  of  vi.nv,  „u,l  a«  it  affcetcl  ,.„■  in 

Ki.n.u,  of  the   laoro  lin„l,(,i-.nan'„  truck  of  tl.rcc  or  f„„r 
youvH  prov.ms    and  co,,].,  <.ti.,.at„  at  it«  ri^lt  "■,<." 
.;...^wh.,  .t    ,s„„vv„i,,.ay  am,...,.„a  to  hi.  Jtt. 

wind,  tlio  dark  groou  of  tlio  ,,i„o  an,l  tl.o  bri..htcr  vor.lu  , 

the     COUlltiy    WJlo-.rons      l.,rlni-.      «.U1  •  ^ 

Deploring  the  tendoncy-the  ruinous  tondcnev-of  hi« 

Wn  ,  "    *^'°'"'^">'    ^l''«cril,ed,    and    l,ci„f 

f  loioughly  conversant  witli  the  many  evils  rr,„lt;,      t 

«™  prevailing  habit  of  the  Irish  imL^^^^j;:!, 

m,l,cis  of  his  people  to  settle  on  the  soil,  and  thus  amid 
.e  snnphcity  and  safety  of  a  rural  existence    c  "ate 
«.e.n»elves  a  happy  home  and  an  honourable  T^  d™  e 

Act,  Jio  apphed  to  the  Government  for  tracts  of  unoccu- 


64 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


pied  land  on  certain  conditions,  one  being  that  he  should 
find  settlers  for  this  land  within  a  limited  time.  His  first 
application  was  for  10,000  acres,  which  were  to  be  occu- 
pied in  twelve  months.  For  this  quantity  of  land  settlers 
were  found  within  the  prescribed  period.  A  second  10,000 
acres  were  then  applied  for,  and  similarly  occupied  ;  and 
an  additional  1G,000  acres,  also  obtained  by  the  Bishop, 
were  yet  to  be  occupied  by  those  who  possessed  the  requi- 
site courage  to  face  the  difficulties  and  temporary  hard- 
shijis  of  a  new  existence.  There  were  then  in  actual 
occupation  170  lota,  of  100  acres  each;  and  allowing  for 
the  settlers  with  families,  and  tiio  young  men  who  had  not 
yet  entered  into  the  bonds  of  wedlock,  the  number  of  souls 
in  the  settlement  of  Johnville  might  be  fairly  estimated  at 
600  at  the  very  lowest — a  terrible  responsibhty  to  the 
Bishop,  if  his  influence  had  been  unwisely  used,  but  a 
triumph  and  a  consolation  to  him  if  it  had  been  exercised 
in  a  s})irit  of  wisdom  and  humanity.  Of  this  the  reader 
can  form  a  judgment  from  what  follows. 

Each  settler  was  required  by  the  State,  as  the  principal 
condition  of  obtaining  100  acres  of  land,  to  give  work,  to 
the  value  of  sixty  dollars,  on  the  pubhc  road  that  was  to 
pass  by  his  own  door,  and  was  intended  for  his  own  ad- 
vantage;  but  while,  if  so  inchned,  he  could  perform  this 
amount  of  work  in  one  year,  ho  was  allowed  four  years  for 
its  completion.  Before  ho  could  obtain  the  registry  of  his 
grant,  somewhat  analogous  to  a  Parhamentary  title  in 
Ireland,  he  should  be  returned  by  the  Commissioner  aa 
having  executed  this  required  amount  of  work,  cleared 
five  acres,  built  a  house  at  least  sixteen  feet  square,  and 
actually  settled  as  a  resident  on  the  land  assigned  to  him. 
These  conditions  had  been  complied  with,  in  all  cases,  within 
the  four  years  allowed,  but  in  most  they  had  been  satisfied 
in  two  years,  and  by  a  considerable  number  of  the  settlers 
in  a  still  shorter  time.  When  the  return  is  made  by  the 
Commissioner,  who  visits  the  settlement  once  a  year,  tho 


G  should 
His  first 
be  occu- 
1  settlers 
id  10,000 
ied  ;  and 
Bisliop, 
be  requi- 
ry  hard- 
n  actual 
wing  for 
Lad  not 
of  souls 
nated  at 
r  to  the 
I,  but  a 
)xercised 
e  reader 

wincipal 
work,  to 
b  was  to 
own  ad- 
)rni  this 
>rears  for 
L-y  of  his 

title  in 
ioncr  aa 

cleared 
are,  and 

to  him. 
s,  within 
satisfied 

settlers 
I  by  the 
ear,  tho 


WE  ENTER  THE  SETTLEMENT.  68 

p-anfc  is  then  formally  rogistercd  and  issued,  and  the  settler 
becomes   the  fee-simple   proprietor  of   100  acres  of  land 
the  property  of  himself  and  his  family,  and  of  which  no 
power  on  earth  can  deprive  him  or  them.     Should  a  poor 
man  be  fortunate  enough  to  be  the  father  of  one  or  two 
or  more  sons,  of  the  age  of  eighteen  or  upwards,  he  can 
procure  100  acres  for  each  of  them  on  the  same  conditions  • 
and  though  a  large  family  is  regarded  with  horror  by  your 
Malthusians  of  the  old  country,  it  is  a  blessing  of  inestim- 
able value  m  a  new  country,  in  which  human  labour— that 
grandest  of  fertihsers  and  mightiest  of  civiHsers-finds  its 
true  ajopreciation. 

The  first  tenement  which  the  settler  in  the  forest  con- 
trives for  himself  is  a  camp,  or  shanty.     It  is  constructed 
ot  logs  rudely  put  together,  the  interstices  filled  up  with 
moss,  leaves,  or  clay,  whatever  can  best  keep  out  the  wind 
and  the  cold  ;  the  roof  conl^isting  of  the  same  materials 
further  protected  l)y  a  covering  of  bark,  eked  out,  it  may 
be,  with  branches  of  the  pine,  the  spruce,  or  the  cedar 
Warmed  by  a  stove,  or  carefully  prepared  fire-place,  the 
camp  or  shanty  is  considered  to  be  a  dwelUng  of  surpassing 
comfort  by  the  settler  wlio  commences  his  first  winter  in 
the  forest.     In  a  year  or  two,  perhaps  a  longer  time,  the 
rude  camp  is  abandoned  for  the  more  spacious  and  elabo- 
rately constructed  log  cabin,  or  log  house  ;  and  when  the 
settler  arrives  at  the  'frame  house '  and  the  frame  barn,  he 
looks  upon  himself  as  having  reached  the  climax  of  earthly 
comfort,  and  even  the  highest  point  of  luxurious  accommo- 
dation ;  though  possibly  in  a  few  years  after  tho  frame 
house   gives  way  to  the  substantial  brick   dwelhng,  por- 
ticoed,  and  pillared— the  glory  and  delight  of  its  hospitable 
owner. 

Jolting  and  jumping  over  many  an  agreeable  variety  in 
the  surface  of  tJie  road,  which  the  Bishop  and  I  regarded 
vvith  quite  opposite  feelings,  w^e  came  to  tlie  end  of  our 
verdant  avenue,  and  reached  a  Httle  eminence  crowned  by 


56 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


a  chapel  of  modest  dimensions  and  unpretending  archi- 
tecture.    From   this  vantage  ground  the  first  portion  of 
the  Irish  settlement  of  JohnviUe  opened  out  before  us  • 
and  though,  on  that  sharp  October  day,  the  sun  but  occa- 
sionally ht  up  the  landscape  with  its  cheerful  beams  one 
could  easily  imagine   how  beautiful    in   must    appear    in 
summer,  when  the  wide  vaHey  is  fiUed  with  waving  corn 
varied  with  bright  patches  of  potatoe,  and  the  surrounding 
woods   are   clad   in   all  the  varied  verdure  of  the  Hving 
forest.     Bounded  on  aU  sides  by  a  waU  of  trees,  which  in 
one  direction  cover  a  range  of  mountains  as  beautiful  in 
their  outlme  as  those  that  are  mirrored  in  the  sweet  waters 
ot  Ivillarney,  an  undulating  plain  of  cleared  land  extends 
about  two  miles  in  length  by  a  mile  in  breadth,  dotted 
over  with  the  most  striking  evidences  of  man's  presence 
and  the  progress  of  civiHsation,-comfortable   dweUings 
substantial  and  even  spacious  barns-horses,  cattle,  sheep' 
hogs,    and  poultry  of    aU  kinds,   from   the  loud-crowing 
rooster'    to    the    puddle-loving    duck    and    the    solemn 
goose.     Even  to  the  eye  of  an  Insh  farmer,  the  vast  plain 
before  us  would  have  presented  a  rough  and  rather  un- 
promising  aspect,  for  not  two   acres  of  the   many  hun- 
dred  already  'cleared'   were    yet  free    from    the    stumps 
of  the   great  trees  whose   lofty  branches  had  waved  and 
moaned  m  the  storms  of  ages.     The  road,  bounded  by  rude 
og  fences,  and  the  limits  of  each  holding  marked  out  in 
the  same  primitive  manner,  and  stumps  a  couple  of  feet 
High  plentifully  scattered  over  every  field,-this  at  the  first 
glance  would  not  favourably  impress  the  Irish  farmer  to 
say  nothing  of  the  Enghsh  Yeoman  or  the  Scotch  Low- 
ander  ;  but  were  he  to  overcome  his  first  impressions  of 
the  strangeness  of  aU  he  saw,  and  enquire  into  its  details 
he  .^^uld  soon  discover  much  to  astonish  and  much  to 
gratify  him.      The   stumps,   that  impart   so   strange   and 
rough   an  appearance  to   an  early  settlement,  cannot  be 
destroyed  or  eradicated  for  some  years  to  come  ;  yet,  -fi'oni 


THE  FIRST  Af AN  AND  WOMAN. 


57 


the  first  year  that  the  trees  had  been  laid  low  by  the 
settlei-'s  axe,  abundant  crops  of  grain  and  potatoes  had 
been  raised  with  comparatively  little  trouble ;  and  large 
,  quantities  of  hay,  priceless  as  winter  food,  had  likewise 
borne  witness  to  the  fertihty  of  the  soil  on  wliich  a  con- 
stant succession  of  leaves  had  faUen  and  rotted  throu-h 
countless  ages.  '° 

In  the  faU  of  1861  the  first  settlers,  a  man  and  his  wife 
—Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hugh  M'Cann-entered  the  forest,  bring- 
ing with    them    provisions  for    the    winter,    and   a  veiy 
moderate   stock   of  furniture   and   other   valuables,  which 
the  prudent  pair  had  accumulated  by  their  industry  in  the 
city  of  St.  John.     Through  a  mere  track,  the  oxen,  lent  by 
a  kindly  Irish  family,  slowly  dragged  after  them  the  entire 
worldly  wealth  of  this  stout-hearted  couple,  the  pioneers 
of  the   civilisation   so   soon   to  foUow  in   their  footsteps. 
Right  in  the  midst  of  the   forest—never  before   trodden 
save  by  the  Indian,  tlie  lumberman,  or  the  wild  animal— 
the  M'Canns  setled  down,  resolved  to  brave  the  severity 
of  the  approaching  season.     The  first  thing   to   be   done 
was  to  erect  a  log  cabin,  and  for  the  rougher  portion  of 
this  indispensable  work  the  thrifty  pair  were  able  to  pay; 
but  they  had  to  cover  their  dweUing  by  their  own  labour,' 
which  they  did  with  great  pieces  of  bark  and  branches  torn 
from  the  trees  under  whose  shadow  they  took  up  their 
abode.     Here  then  they  were,  in  the  heart  of  what  to  them 
was  a  wilderness,  more  than  two  miles  from  a  Luman  habi- 
tation, and  even  uncertain  of  the  way  by  which  they  could 
reach  the  outer  world ;  their  only  guide  being  either  a  faint 
trnck,  or  an  occasional  mark,  or  scar,  made  on  the  bark  of 
a  tree.     Still  they  were  not  in  the  least  deg.ee  discouraged. 
Mrs.  M'Cann  had  pluck  and  cheerfulness  sufficient  for  a 
more  hazardous  enterprise.     With  a  good  stove,   and  an 
occasional   quilt   or   blanket,    suspended   on   the   walls   as 
tapesti-y,  the  col.l  was  effectually  kept  out,  and  the  lonely 
hours  made  comfortable  during  the  bitter  winter.     Armed 


08 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


With  Lis  keen  axe,  Hugh   cut  and  cliopped  through  the 
months  while  the  snow  covered  the  ground;  and  so  re- 
solut(ay  did  he  work,  that  when  the  white  mantle  vanished 
W   the   earth   before    tlie   warmth   of   the    spring,   the 
M  Canns  had  cleared  several  acres  of  their  land ;   and  in 
the  Autumn  of  18G2  they  gathered  in  their  first  produce- 
an  abundant  harvest  of  potatoes,  oats,  and  buckwheat.     A 
proud   woman   was  Mrs.   Hugh   M'Cann,  as   she  did  the 
honours  of  her  forest  home  to  the  settlers  of  18(32  •   and 
prouder  still  as  she  afforded  hospitahty  and  the  shelter  of 
her  warm  roof  to  many  who  had  yet  to  raise  a  dwellinn. 
over  their  heads.     I  could  well  appreciate  the  brave  and 
cheery  nature  of  this  humble  Irishwoman,  as  the  Bishop  and 
I— alter  a  lengthened  and  someMiiat  laborious  tour  throuo-h 
the  settlement-sat  before  the  well-replenished  stove  which 
had  so  often  warmed  the  limbs  of  the  wayfarer,  and  smiled 
Its  ruddy  welcome  to  the  heart  of  the  exile  ;  and  I  hstened 
to  Mrs.   M  Cann  while  she   chatted  gaily  to  her  guests, 
making  light  of    trials   and  difficulties  that   would  have 
daunted  many  a  lord  of  creation.      She   laughed,  as   she 
told  of  her  furniture  being  flung  by  a  surly  captain  on  the 
shore  ^of  the   river;  how  she  lost  her   temper  'with  the 
feUow,  and  did  not  recover  it  for  ever  so  long;  how  tartly 
she  rephed,  in  a  spirit  not  of  the  mildest  theology,  to  the 
kmdly-mtentioned  queries  of  a  Free-wiU  Baptist;  how  'it 
was  as  good  as  any  theaytre'  to  see   Hugh  and   herself 
trampmg  after  the  lumbering  oxen,  and  all  their  cherished 
property  nodding   and    shaking   on    the  jolting  wag-on- 
how   Hugh   spent   a  portion   cf  his  first   Sunday-' after 
saving  our  prayers.  Bishop,  by  aU  means '-in  making  the 
frame  of  the  door,  while  she  constructed  the  door  'with 
her   own   two  hands ; '   how  happy  they  felt  as,  the  cold 
being  eil^ctually  barred  out,  they  sat  down  before   their 
bright  stove,  and  drank  a  rousing  cup  of  tea ;  how,  as  time 
rolled  on,  and  the  forest  receded  before  the  resolute  axe 
and  the  fields  gi-ew  in  dimensions,  and  cattle  lowed  round 


THE  SECOND  MAN  AND  WOMAN.  59 

their  house,  and  hogs  grunted  in  the  piggery,  and  roo.ters 
and  their  wives  strutted  and  clucked,  she  had  a  tren.endous 
batt  e  Tvitli  a  skunk  that  assailed  her  chickens,  and  how 
single-handed,  and  appeahng  in  vain  to  unheroic  or  sleeT)v 
Hugh,  she  slew  the  invader  of  infamous  odour,  and  then 
nearly  fainted  through  fatigue,  excitement,  and  the  over- 
powering stench  it  emitted  ;  how  as  many  as  sixteen  used 
to  he  at  night  on  every  available  spot  of  the  floor,  and  the 
priest  was  curtained  off  by  a  quilt  in  a  corner  to  himself  • 
and  how,  with  the  help  of  God,  the  more  she  gave  the 
more  she  had  to  give.     A  pleasant  hour's  chat  was  that 
with  Mrs.  M'Cann,  who  did  the  honours  of  her  log  cabin 
with  the  ease  of  a  duchess. 

The  second  woman  settler  merits  special  notice  were  it 
only  to  prove,  to  would-be  sceptics,  that  the  relations  be- 
tween the  landlord  and  the  tenant  in  the  old  country  have 
reaUy  something  to  do  with  the  Irish  pcusant's  nng-ration 
to  the  New  World.  " 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crehan,  of  Galway,  had  been  tenants  on 
a   certain  property  in    that    county ;    and   this    property 
having,  m  some  way  respecting  which  Mrs.  Crehan  was  a 
httle  bewildering  in  her  explanation,  come  into  the  pos- 
session of  a  gentleman  with  a  fine  old  Galwegian  name, 
the   tribulation   of    the   Crehans   commenced.       The   first 
thing  done  by  the  new  landlord  was  to  raise  the  rent  on 
his  tenants,  the  second  to  deprive  them  of  their  mountain 
pasture,  the  third  to  cut  off  the  shore  and  its  seaweed  from 
their  free  use,  and  the  fourth  to  persecute  a  cherished  pig 
with    degrading    pound,    and  its   indignant    owners   with 
harassing  fines.     It  is  the  last  drop  that  causes  the  glass 
to   overflow;    and   possibly  the   wrongs    inflicted    on   the 
friend  of  the  family  and  traditional  rent-payer  filled   to 
overflowing  the  brimming  measure  of  their  woes  ;  for  the 
Crehans   made   up   their   minds   to   go   some  where  —  any- 
where-' to  the  end  of  the  world  '-rather  than  remain  m 
a  state  of  abject  vassalage,  dependent  on  the  caprice  or 


60 


TIIK  HUSH  IN  AMERICA. 


avari(3e  of  the  gentleman  with  the  fine  old  Galwegian  name, 
'and   a   holy  Roman,  too,  if  you  plaze,'  as   Mrs.  Crehan 
scoflingly  assured  mo.      The  Parish  Priest  was  consulted 
by  the  afllicted  jjair  ;  and  ho,  having  seen  the  letters  of  the 
Bishoj)  of  St.  John,  which  had  been  published  in  the  Irish 
papers,  advised  them  to  proceed  at  once  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  take  land  for  themselves  and  their  children  in  tiio 
Johnvillo  settlement,  'where  no  man  or  no  law  can  take  it 
from  you  or  them,'  added  their  counsellor.     The  advice  was 
instantly  adopted  by  the  Crehans,  to  whom  the  now  wiser 
landlord  would  have  been  glad  to  lot  a  much  larger  farm 
than  that  whose  rent  he  had  so  arbitrarily  raised.     But  it 
*ivas  too  late  ;    and  so,  after  paying,  '  to  the  last  farthing, 
everything  they  owed  in  the  world,'  they  took   ship   for 
St.  John  with  their  largo  family  of  children,  their  hard- 
earned  savings,  and,  what  they  prized  scarcely  less,  a  letter 
fi'om  their  Parish  Priest  to  the  Bishop. 

On  their  arrival  in  St.  John  they  lost  no  time  in  seeking 
the  Bishop,  to  whom  they  presented  thoii'  only  credential, 
the  letter  that  was  'to  make  a  landlord  of  Dinny.'  The 
wife  at  that  time  spoke  English  imperfectly,  while  the 
husband  understood  no  other  language  than  that  which  is 
the  sweetest  to  the  ear  and  the  softest  to  the  tongue  of 
the  Connaught  peasant ;  and  clustering  round  this  seem- 
ingly helpless  couple,  was  a  swarm  of  young  children, 
some  Httlo  more  than  toddhng  infants.  As  the  Bishop 
heard  their  story,  and  glanced  at  the  group  of  young 
creatures,  he  looked  upon  the  case  as  almost  desperate  :  the 
husband,  who  had  to  rely  on  his  wife's  somewhat  question- 
able powers  as  an  interpreter,  might  not  be  able  to  make 
himself  understood,  and  probably  the  struggle  would  be  too 
severe  for  the  children.  Therefore  he  so  glit  to  dissuade 
them  from  the  attempt  which  they  were  so  anxious  to 
make.  But  to  go  into  the  forest  they  were  determined, 
and  go  into  it  they  did— with  a  result  which  is  pleasant 
to  narrate. 


CELTIC  ENERGY. 


CI 


ian  name, 
i.  Crelian 
consulted 
3rs  of  the 
the  Irish 
\N  Bruns- 
•en  in  tlio 
11  take  it 
Ivico  was 
low  wiser 
ger  farm 
.  But  it 
farthing-, 
ship  for 
sir  hard- 
,  a  letter 

L  seeking 
•edontial, 
y.'  The 
hilo  the 
which  is 
3ngue  of 
is  seem- 
childron, 
Bishop 
f  young 
'ate :  the 
luestion- 
to  make 

* 

id  be  too 
dissuade 
xious  to 
3rinined, 
pleasant 


Tlioir  entire  worldly  moans  consisted  of  20/.,  with  tvhich 
they  liad  to   provide   every  necessary  for  a  large  family 
until   the   iirst   crop   could    be    reaped   and  gathered  in 
There  was,  liowever,  tlie   right  stulf  hi   the  poor  Galway 
emigrants,  although  they  were  of  the  purest  type  of  th»'t 
Celtic  race  of  whose  capacity  your  self-complacent  Anglo- 
Saxon  stupidly  affects  to  despair.     In  an  incredibly  sliort 
space  of  time  the  Crehans  had  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land 
cleared,  fenced,  and   cropped,  a   spacious  log  house   and 
ample   barn    constructed ;    a  horse,    and  cows,  and  hogs, 
and  sheep,  were  purchased,  or  raised  on  this  farm  in  the 
wilderness  ;    and  when  the  Bishop  and  I  walked  through 
their  property,  and   inspected   their  wealth   in  barn    and 
field,   these   despised    and    persecuted    peasants  were  in 
possession  of  200  acres  of  land,  and  such  independence  as 
they  never  dreamed  of  in  Galway. 

Volubly   did   Mrs.    Crehan— a   dark-haired,    sharp-eyed, 
comely  matron— teU  of  her  treatment  in  Ireland,  and  her 
trials  in  her  new  home,  as  she  welcomed  ilie  Bishop  and 
'the  gentleman  from  the  ould  country'  into  her  log  cabin, 
Avhich,  in  a  few  days,   she   was  to   abandon  for  T  grand 
frame  house,  constructed  on  the  most  approved  principles 
of  American  domestic  architecture.     This  mansion  was  evi- 
dently an  object  of  the  most  intense  pride  to  Mrs.  Crehan, 
who  was  much  complimented  by  the  expression  of  our  de- 
sire to  see  it.     As  we  proceeded  towards   the  new  build- 
ing, which  was  then  receiving  its  protecting  coat  of  '  shingle,' 
I  remarked  that  she  must  have  felt  somewhat  lonely  on  her 
first  entrance  into  the  forest. 

'Thrue  for  you,  sir,  it  was  lonely  for  us,  and  not  a  hvin- 
sowl  near  us,  but  the  chnder.  Indeed,  sir,  'twas  only  '  j  an 
ould  stump  that  I  knew  whether  I  was  near  home  or 
r.ot ;  and  other  times  we  couldn't  find  our  way  at  all,  only 
for  a  cut  on  a  tree.  And  'twas  the  owls— ilie  divils!— 
that  would  make  a  body's  heart  jump  into  their  mouth. 
Oh,  sir,  th(^y  screeched  and  screeched.  I  declare,  hke  any 


62 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Cliristiari,  tiU  tlioy  fnghtonod  the  cliiklor  out  of  their  sivin 
siiisea.  The  Httlo  boy— he's  a  iiiio  feUow  now—would  catch 
hould  of  1110  by  the  gownd,  and  -iv  on,  -Qh  iiiamniy 
nianuay !  wliat  a  place  daddy  broui^ht  uw  to !— we'll  be  all 
ate  up  to-ni-ht— mammy,  mammy,  we'U  bo  aU  ate  up  to- 
night "  You  know,  sir,  it's  easy  to  frighten  childcr,  the 
crayclicr.s,'  apologised  the  mother. 

'But,  Mrs.    Crehan,  I  suppose   you  don't  regret  huvinrr 
come  here  ? '  o  o 

'Deed  then  no,  sir,  not  a  bit  of  it.  No,  thanks  be  to  the 
Lord,  and  blessed  be  His  holy  name !  We  have  plenty  to 
ate  and  drink,  and  a  good  bed  to  he  on,  and  a  warm  roof 
over  our  heads,  and,  what's  more  than  that,  all  we  have 
IS  our  own,  and  no  one  to  take  it  from  us,  or  to  say  "  boo  " 
to  us.  The  grief  I  have  is  that  there's  only  the  200  acres 
-for  Id    dearly  like   another    hundred    for   the   second 

•^'  .r  '^'''''  '^  ^""^  '^'''^''  ^'''^l^i'^^  *«  SO  to  Galway  and 
see  Mr.  Blank  (the  gentleman  with  the  fine  old  Gal- 
wegum  name),  you  may  teU  him  from  me,  that  I'm  better 
oli  than  himself,  and  more  indipindent  in  my  mind  • 
and  teU  him,  sir,  aU  the  harm  I  wish  him  is  for  liini 
o  know  that  much.  Twas  the  lucky  day  he  took  our 
turl  and  the  sayweed— and  a  bad  weed  he  was,  the  Lord 
knows.' 

' Mrs.  Crehan,  Where's  the  ould  man?' asked  a  crabbed 
httle  feUow,  who  seemed  anxious  to  do  the  honours  of  the 
settlement  to  the  strange  gentleman,  and  who  would  keep 
us  company,  foi:  a  bit  of  the  road.' 

'AVhere  is  he  gone,  is  it?  Wliy  then,  Jimmy,  he's  gone 
to  seU  a  cow,'  w^as  the  good  woman's  reply. 

'  Gone  to  seU  a  cow  !  '  exclauned  Jimmy,  with  an  expres- 
sion of  affected  horror.  'Yea,  Mrs.  Crehan,  ma'am,  what 
do  you  want  partm'  with  your  beautiful  cow  ? ' 

'What  do  I  want  partin'  with  the  cow,  is  it?  Then, 
Jimmy,  it's  to  pay  what  I  owe,  and  I  don't  hke  to  be  in 
debt ;  that's  what  it  manes,  Jimmy.' 


JIMMY  M'ALLISTER.  gg 

'Bnivo,  Mry.  Crelian! '  Raid  flic  Bishop  ;  'I  admire  your 
principle.     Never  be  in  debt,  if  you  possibly  can  avoid  'it ' 

Jiinmy  was  silenced,  tliinkin-  perhaps  that  Mrs.  Crehan 
had  the  best  of  the  argument,  the  more  so  as  his  lordshin 
■was  on  her  side.  ^ 

_  Jimmy  M'AlIister  may  not  be  the  wisest  or  most  saga- 
cious adult  male   in   the  settlement;  but,  fortunately  for" 
him,  he  has   a   better  half,  who  looks    sharply   after   all 
thm-s,  Jimmy  included.     Mrs.  M'AUister  is  of  so  thrifty 
a  turn   that  she  would  pick  a  feather  off  the  road  ;  and 
indeed  so  success-fuUy  had  she  picked  up  and  l,artered  this 
article  of  comfort  and  commerce,  that  she  was  then  after 
sellmgfour  good  beds  for  the  respectable    ;um  of  lfi/-no 
small   addition  to   the  annual  revenue  of   tho  M'Alhsters 
Jimmy  was  of  a  different  turn  of  mind :  he  would  rather 
pick  up  a  grievance  than  a  feather ;  and  the  want  of  a  priest 
tor  the   settlement  was  a  topic   on  which  he  dilated  with 
persistent  eloquence,  notwithstanding  the  Bishop's  repeated 
assurances   that  there  would  be  a  resident  priest  in   the 
course  of  the  following  spring. 

'But,  my  lord,' persisted  Jimmy,  'he's  wanted  bad;  and 
that  s  no  he.  Faith,  my  lord,  a  body  may  die  three  times 
over  m  this  place  before  he  could  send  for  the  priest  •  and 
as  for  that,  a  poor  fellow  mightn't  have  tho  doUars'  con  - 
vavQient  to  send  for  tho  doctor-two  <loUars  goin'  nnd  two 

dollars  comin'— Be  dad,  my  lord ' 

'Well,  Jimmy,  please  God.  you  shaU  have  the  priest 
next  spring,'  said  the  Bishop. 

'Thai  may  all  be  thrue,  sir— my  lord !— but,  after  all    a 
body  may  die  three  times  over  before  he  could  send  for  him 
and  then,  mv  lord '  ' 

'VeryweU,  Jimmy,  you  will  be  sure  to  have  him,'  said 
the  Bishop  with  additional  emphasis,  in  the  hope  of  satis- 
fymg  the  unappeasable  grievance-monger. 

'And,  my  lord,  sure  this  settleinent  is  well  ble  to 
support  its  own  priest,  and  I  tell  you  he's  much  wanted 


i\ 


a 


Tino  finsn  in  amkiuca. 


-and,  for  <ho  ,n.'ti((>r  of  ihni,  tx  poor  l,o,lv  irmv  dio  tl 
tiinoH  <,vrr  1m  r,)r.>  ho  couLl  !.(>  ,il>l„  to  H(.n,l  for  liiin 


iree 


A  nnnour  fj.ut,  Mr«.  M-VUist.,-  uuh  iu  sio-U  l,u<l  a  innr- 
volloiis  n.llncnco  on  Jinnn.y,  Avho  nskc.l  for  and  obtaincl 
H  ri'a.l.v  l(':iv(,  of  al),s(>nc(-,  from  the,  JJiKhop,  on  tho  ph>a  <  f 
'nr^^ont  privato  businoss/  Avliicb,  in  liin  /cal  for  tho  spi)- 
•itnal  wolfaro  of  hi.s  follow-sinnorR,  ho  liad  alto^.(>tlior  for- 
^•(.tlon  Jumny  rapidly  foil  behind,  and  wan  not  s(>(>n  (ill 
tho  fo]]o\\  injjf  niorninrr. 

Anion^^st   othor    Hc^Uha-.s  .vhoni   wo  visited,  was    a  Cork 
liutn.    nanuHl    Rcnlly,    fn,m    boyond    IVIaorooni,   and    who 
ovory  day  lio  roHo  in  tho  old  country  saw  Ballyvournoy 
boforo    his    two  oyos.'     l^.iHy  ,vas  a  man  of  middlo  a^o, 
fCravo  countcnanoo,  handsonio  foaturos,  inoludin-  a  niarl<od 
a(piihno  noRo,  of  doliborato  uttoranoe,  tho  richoHt  of  IVIun- 
Btor  bro-nos,  and  a  si,londid  faculty  for  rollin^r  tho  'r'  liko 
tho  rattle  of  a  drum  under  tho  hands  of  a  Fienchman ; 
and  it  would    seem  as  if  honest   llc-iHy  had  a  pr(>ferenco 
for  words  that  enabkal  him  to  display  tliis  faculty  to  tho 
greatest  perfection.     Tho  manner  in  which  ho  pronounced 
'your  lortlship,'  'your-r-r  lor-r-rdship,'  was  griind. 

Heilly  had  come  out  in  the  May  of  18G2 ;  and  all  ho  had, 
besides    an    immenso  family— there    were   eleven   children 
in  tho  settlement  in  Of-tobor  18GG--was  a  little  money  for 
provisions,  and  an  axe.     But  tho  man,  and  tho  axe,  and 
tho  will  and  power  to  use  it,  were  '  with  God's  help,'  equal 
to  ike  work  to  bo  done  ;  and  so  resolutely  did  he  set  to 
his  task,  so  vigorously  did  ho  and  his  eldest  boy  hew  away 
at  tho  forest,  that  ho  was  enabled  to  gather  in  100  buslu^ls 
of  potatoes  that  fall.      These,  and  what  remained  in  the 
ilour-barrca,  kept  the  wolf  from  the  door  of  KeiUy's  little 
sheepfold.      And  so  the   stout  Cork   man  and  his  sturdy 
boy  toiled  on,  season  after  season,  and  year  after  year,  until, 
]u  Oclober  18G(I,  the  settler  of  1862  had  cleared  between 
forty  and  lifty  acres  of  land,  and  was  the  owner  of  two 
yoke  of  oxen,  six  cows,  several  sheep  and  hogs,  a  good  log 


MIt.  IJKHJ.V  FROM  JIALLYVOURNKY 


06 


<lio  throe 

iii«l  II  iiirir- 

olihiiiicd 

10  plra  <  f 

tllU    Hpi)'- 

.'tlior  for- 
'   HCOll    till 

'•i  a  Cork 
11(1  who, 
yvouriioy 
:ldlo  a}f(), 
I  nmrl<('<l 
of  Mnn- 
[>  '  r '  like 
iK'liiiian ; 
L'oforonco 
:y  to  tlio 

llOllllCGcl 

[  ho  liad, 
children 
oiicy  for 
ixo,  and 
[),'  equal 
e  set  to 
3W  away 

bushels 
i  in  the 
y'H  little ! 

sturdy 
Lr,  until, 
jetween 

of  two 
ood  log 


houHO,  to  wl»ieh  lie  had  just  added  a  coinniodious  loft,  a 
fino  burn,  a  pi^'gery  of  Hiiitablo  strength  and  diinensicniH. 

'W(!ll,  lleiljy,  I  congratulate  you,'  said  the  Bishop. 
'  What  you  liavo  done  in  tho  time  is  most  creditable  to 
you.' 

'  Well,  niy  lord,  I  am  getting  along  purty  well,  I  thank 
my  IVlakcr  for  it.  We  have  raison  to  be  grateful  and  oon- 
t(!nted,  your  lordship,  with  what  we've  done.  There  is 
a  good  prospect  for  us  and  the  children,  the  Lord  bo 
praised  !  Sure  enough,  'twas  a  groat  change  from  the  ould 
country  to  this.     Glory,  too,  to  the  Lord  for  that  same  ! ' 

It  may  bo  remarked,  that  my  excellent  countryman 
secured  to  himself  in  this  short  speech  ample  oppeu't unity 
for  tho  display  of  his  r's,  which  came  inagniticeutly  into 

A  glance  into  the  comfortable  and  spacious  house,  where 
Mrs.  Eeillywas  employed  in  dressing  a  plump  represen- 
tative of  tho  floillys,  afforded  material  for  pleasing  specu- 
lation ;  for  near  tho  big  table  at  tlie  opposite  side  of  the 
room,  stood  a  pair,  whose  conscious  manner — the  same 
kind  of  thing  one  may  see  in  a  drawdng-room — evidently 
portended  speedy  employment  for  the  resident  priest  for 
whoso  advent  Jimmy  IM'xVllister'so  ardently  sighed. 

Having  visited  many  of  tho  houses  in  the  first  great 
clearance,  wo  drove  through  the  forest,  a  distance  of  two 
miles,  and  came  to  a  plain  or  valley  of  far  greater  extent, 
stretching  five  miles  in  one  direction,  but  similar  in  its 
leading  features  to  that  which  wo  had  just  left.  It  may 
bo  remarked,  in  order  to  be  accurate,  that  the  Crehan 
family  were  among  the  occupiers  of  this  portion  of  the 
settlement ;  but  as  Mrs.  Crehan  w\as  the  second  woman 
who  li:ul  braved  the  difficulties  of  a  Hfe  amidst  tho  woods, 
I  somewhat  anticipated  in  her  case.  The  vast  tract 
stretching  out  before  us  w\as  reclaimed,  or  cleared,  on  the 
low  ground,  and  on  iho.  genllo  elevation,  and  up  the  side 
of    the   mountain    range   that  ran  parallel  to   the  plain. 


fl 


66 


THE  IRISn  IN  AMERICA. 


Here,  as  in  the  first  clearance,  were  the  same  evidences  of 
the  presence  of  man  and  the  power  of  that  most  effective 
capital  of  aU— human  labour  well  directed.     Decent  houses 
and   ample   barns  were   to   be   seen    in    every  direction  ; 
and,  what  was  the  most  hopeful  indication  of  the  thrift 
and  energy  of  the  settlers,  was  the  fact  that,  in  very  many 
mstances,  while  the  family  still  remained  in  the  primitive 
log  house,  the  barn  for  the  reception  and  storage  of  grain 
and  other  produce  was  large,  substantial,  and  built  in  the 
best  style  common  to  the  province.     In  numerous   cases 
we  found  settlors  to  possess  two  fivame  barns,  with  spacious 
piggeries  constructed  of  logs,  from  which  the  well-known 
melodious    sounds    unceasingly  issued.      In   a  very   rare 
instance  was  the   original  camp  or  shanty  tenanted  •  but 
where  it  was  ^stiU  the  dweUing-place  of  the  family,  a  fair 
proportion  of  the  land  was  cleared,  and  a  good  barn  was 
hUed  with  the  produce  of  a  prosperous  season. 

One  of  the  settlers,  named  M'Mahon.  had  just  com- 
pleted a  frame  house  which,  for  extent,  outward  appeal- 
ance,  and  inferior  comfort  and  accommodation,  was  equal 
to  almost  any  farmer's  dwelHng  I  had  seen  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, from  Shediac  to  St.  John,  or  from  St.  John  to 
Johnville-a  distance  of  300  miles.  M'Mahon  had  brouo-ht 
some  capital  into  the  forest,  the  result  of  his  industry 
as  a  blacksmith.  His  new  trade  appeared  to  thrive  with 
him,  as  he  was  surrounded  with  the  most  convincing  evi- 
dences of  prosperity  and  comlbrt. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  aU  who  came 
mto  the  settlement  brought  more  or  less  pecuniary  capital 
with  them.  Many-indeed,  the  majority-commenced 
without  any  capital  save  that  comprised  in  their  health, 
their  strength,  and  their  wiUingness  to  work.  '  Nothing,' 
sir,  but  my  own  four  bones,  a  sharp  axe,  and  the  help  of 
the  Lord,'  was  the  pithy  and  pious  response  of  more  than 
one  toiler  in  the  forest,  as  he  was  asked  of  his  struggles 
and  success.     This  is  how  the  settler  with  no  capitalTave 


onces  of 
efifcctive 
t  liousea 
rection  ; 
le  thrift 
ly  many 
rimitive 
jf  grain 
J  in  tlie 
LS   cases 
iI)acious 
-known 
ry  rare 
)d ;  but 
,  a  fair 
-rn  was 


t  com- 
ippear- 
^  equal 
Bruns- 
jlm  to 
roug-lit 
idustry 
e  with 


ug  evi- 


>  came 
cajiital 
lencod 
lealth, 
>thiug, 
3lp  of 
e  than 
iiggles 
il  save 


HOW  THE  MAN  OF  NO  CAPITAL  GETS  ALONG.  67 

that  indicated  in  the   reply  mentioned,  managed  to  'get 
along.'     Having  earned,  by  working  for  others,  as  much 
rs  enabled  him   to   procure   an  axe   and  provisions  for  a 
month  or  two,  he  boldly  faced  the  forest,  perhaps  with  a 
wife  and  one  or  more  children.     Fortunate  was  the  settler 
if  he  could  obtain  the  fiiendly  assistance  of  a  neighbour 
to  raise  the  first  rude  shelter  for  his  young  wife  and  her 
infants ;   but  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  short  history  of 
the  settlement  such  assistance  was  not  always  procurable, 
and  the  pioneer  of  future  civihsation  had  to  construct  his 
shanty  'any  how  he  could.'     Satisfied   that  he  had  thus 
secured  a  home  for  his  wife  and  httle  ones,  he  laid  about 
him   vigorously   with  his  keen  axe,    smiting  many  a  tree 
which  Avould  have  formed  the  proudest  ornament   of    an 
Enghsh  park,  and  prostrating  pine,  beech,  oak,  and  maple, 
with  the  same  unsparing  energy.     The  rapid  decrease  of 
the  scanty  provisions  would  but  too  soon  warn  the  bread- 
winner that  he  must  hnger  no  longer  in  the  camp  ;   and 
.  caving  his  loved  ones  to  the  protection  of  Providence,  he 
would  aggin  go  out  in  search  of  work,  which  was  always  to 
be  found.     On  the  Saturday  night  the  poor  fellow  might 
be  seen— by  the  owls,  were  those  grave  birds  on  the  look- 
out, or  by  a  casual  wayfarer  hke  himself— trudging  along 
the  rough  highway,  or  rude  track,  bearing  on  his  shoulders 
the  grateful  burden  of  the  next  month's  provisions,  won 
in  the  sweat  of  his  brow  by  honest  toil.     Thus  he  would 
work  occasionaHy  for  others,  and  then  slash  around  him 
with  his  trusty  axe,  until  he  had  cleared  a  few  acres,  and 
planted  them  with  grain  and   potatoes,  built  a  barn,  and 
gathered  in  the  first  blessed  fruits  of  his  industry.     And 
so   on,  from  the  shanty  to   the   log  cabin,   from  the  log 
cabin  to  the  frame  house,  and  the  couple  of  barns,  and 
the  yoke  of   oxen,  and  the  milch  cows,  and  the  liock  of 
slieep,    and   the   great   breeding   sow   and  her   clamorous 
offspring, — so  on  to  independence,  coLifort,    and   content. 
This  is  literally    the    substance   of    many   a   simple   tale. 


i 


68 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


gratefully  volunteeml,  or  easily  elicited  by  a  few  leading 
questions.  ° 

Tiie  settlers  of  Jolmville   are   invariably  kind  to   eacli 
otlier    freely  lending  to  a  neighbour   the  aid  which  they 
may  have   the   next   day   to   solicit  for    themselves.      By 
this  mutual  and  ungrudging  assistance,    the   construction 
of  a  dvvelhng,  or  the  rolling  of   logs  and  pihng  them  in 
a  heap  for  future  burning,  has  been   quickly  and  easily 
accomphshed ;    and    crops    have   been   cut   and   gathered 
m  safely,  which  without  such  :r:igiibourly  aid  might  have 
been  irrecoverably  lost.      •■•.:,   necessary    dependence   on 
each  other  for  mutual  help  m  the  hour  of  difficulty  draws 
the  scattered  settlers  together  by  ties   of   sympathy   and 
friendship  ;  and  wliile  none  envy  the  progress  of  a  neio-h- 
hour,  whose  success  is  rather  a  subject   for  general  con- 
gratulation,  the  affliction  of  one  of  these  humble  families 
brings  a  common  sorrow  to  every  home.     I  witnessed  a 
touching  Illustration  of  this  fraternal  and  Christian  sym- 
pa  hy.     Even  in  the  heart  of  the  primitive  forest  we  have 
sidaiess    and  death,  and  frenzied  grief,  just   as   in   cities 
with  histories  that  go  back  a  thousand  years.     A  few  days 
previous  to  my  visit  a  poor  feUow  had  become  mad,  his 
insanity  being  attributed  to  the  loss  of   his  young  wife 
whose  death  left  him  a  despairing  widower  with  foui^infant 
children.      He    had    just   been   conveyed   to    the    lunatic 
asylum,  and  his  orphans  were  already  taken  by  the  neigh- 
bours,   and  made  part   of   their  families.      One  of   them 
peered  curiously  at  my  companion  and  myself  from  under 
tlie  peak  of  a  huge  fur  cap  that  almost  rested  on  his  little 
nose,  as  the  Bishop  was  enquiring  after  the  family  of  a 
fortunate  settler,  named  Murphy,   who  had   brougiit   the 
eldest  of  the  orphans  to  his  comfortable  home.     How  Ion- 
hese  tender  sympathies  and  beautiful  charities  may  resist 
he  influence  of  selli.hness,  or  civilisation,  I  know  not ;  but 
that    hey  then  existed  in   strength   and   holiness  I  was 
abu  udantly  convinced. 


ONE  CAUSE  OF  SUCCESS.  69 

To  one  cause  may  be   attributed   somf;  of  the   success 
winch  has  crowned  tlie  labours  of  theso  Irish  settlers,  and 
he  wishe.'.of  their  Bishop  and  his  zealous  co-operator,  the 
Key.  Mr.  ConnoUy,  the  -ood  priest  of  Woodstock,-the  ab- 
sence of  nitoxicating  drink,  or  the  prevention  of  its  sale 
in  the  settlement.      What  villag-e  in  En -land  or  Ireland 
wi  h  a  population  of  GOO  souls-that  of  Johnville  in  the 
autumn  of  18GG-is  without  its  'publick?'     Scarcely  one  ; 
while   the   probabUity  is  that  many  villages   of  an   equal 
population  m  the  old  country  possess  two  of  such  estab- 
lishments.    Against  the  sale  of  spirits   in   the  settlement 
the  Bishop  ha^ resohitely  set  his  face,  and  in  this  ^olutary 
pohcy  he   has   the   hearty   co-operation   of  the   p.    cor   of 
Woodstock,  to  whom  much  of  the  merit  of  the  organisation 
and  fortunate  progress  of  the  colony  belongs.      Rarely  is 
spirituous  licpior  of  any  kind  brought  into  the  house  of  a 
settler,   and,   save   in  some  special  instance,  after  a  hard 
day  s  work,  in  which  many  persons  are  necessarily  joined 
It  is  as  rarely  tasted  by  this  simple  and  sinless  people      I 
must,    however,    admit   that,    on   our  return   throu-h   the 
entrance  avenue,  we  did  meet  with  an  elderly  gentleman, 
who   must  have  been   enjoying    himself  while   visiting  a 
fiuend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  settlement  ;  for  not  only 
were  his  powers  as  a  charioteer  considei-ably  impaired,  but 
his  damaged  articulation  imparted  a  still  more  bewilderin- 
intricacy  to  'the  explanation  of  his  discreditable  conduct" 
with  which,  m  demand,  he  favoured  the  Bishop. 

The  material  progress  of  this  Irish  settlement  may  bo 
lUustrated  by  a  significant  fact-that  fat  cattle  to  the 
value  of  200/.  were  sold  to  buyers  from  the  States  the  day 
of  mj  visit.  What  were  the  feelings  of  Jimmy  M'Alhster 
as  he  heard  of  this  tremendous  sacrifice  of  live  stock' 
and  which  included  the  cow  of  Mrs.  Crehan,  that  ex- 
cited his  special  interest,  it  would  be  difficult  to  denict  • 
but  the  fact  of  this  remarkable  sale  of  the  .surplus  stock 
of  a  young  colony  was  mentioned   with  pride  by  one  of 


70 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


the   mosl  intelligent   and   energetic   of    the   settlers,   Mr. 
}5oyd. 

Boyd  was  one  of  the  few  who  brought  a  little  capital 

with    tliem   into   the   settlement.      But    by  far    his    best 

and    most    useful    cai:»ital    consisted   of    four  well-grown, 

healt!\y,  active  sons,  and  an  intelligent  and  hard-working 

daugliter,  who  adds  the  functions  of  post-mistrers  to  the 

more  laborious  and  profitable  duties  of  housekeeper.     Each 

of  the  young  Boyds  has  100  acres  of  land  in  his  own  right, 

though  they  all  wisely  keep  together  as  one  family,  and 

probably  will  continue  to  do  so  until  circumstances,  over 

which  young  people   generally  have  *no  control,'  compel 

them  to  prepare  for  events  by  no  means  unhkely  in  an 

Irish  colony.     One  of  the  '  boys '  was  finishing  a  splendid 

barn,  another  barn  being  filled  to  bursting  with  grain  of 

nil  kinds.     The  father  admitted  that  the  property  then 

possessed  by  the  family— himself  and  his  four  sons— was 

fairly  worth  1,000/. 

According  to  the  census,  taken  at  the  instance  of  the 
Bishop,  the  estimated  value  of  the  land  cleared,  with  the 
stock,  the  produce,  and  the  buildings,  up  to  the  fall  of 
18G5,  v.'as  14,500/. — an  immense  sum,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  up  to  May  18G2  there  had  been  but  one  family 
(Hugh  M'Cann  and  his  wife)  in  the  settlement,  and  it  was 
not  until  1803  that  the  greater  number  of  the  residents 
had  ventured  into  the  forest.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
estimate  for  18GG  would  have  reached  20,000/.  And  if 
such  be  the  result  of  a  few  years — three  or  four  at  the 
very  utmost — of  patient  industry,  stimulated  by  the  cer- 
tainty of  reward  and  the  security  of  its  possession,  what 
may  not  be  looked  for  ten  j-ears  hence,  when  science  and 
matured  experience  are  brought  to  the  aid  of  human  toil 
and  manly  energy  ? 

Early  on  the  Sunday  morniiig  the  roads  presented 
an  unusually  animated  appearance,  iis  groups  of  settlers 
moved  towards  the  Httle  chapel  in  which  the  Bishop  was 


MASS  IN  THE  FOREST.  ;j 

to  celebrate   Mass   at  eight  o'clock.     Keen  was  the  wiiul 
and  sharp  the  air  as  the  fuithfnl  appeared  in  view,  issuing 
from  the  forest  m  various  directions,  some  with  ho'  ^o  -md 
waggon,    but   the   greater   number   sturdily   completing-   a 
smart  walk  of  five,  six,  and  even  ten  miles.     Bri-ht  and 
cheerful  and  happy  they  ah  appeared  on  this  auspicious 
occasion,  when  they  were  to  hear  the  voice  of  their  past.n- 
and  jom   m   the   most   solemn   act  of  Christian   worship' 
There  was  no  tawdry  finery  among  the  women,  no  dressing 
beyond  their  condition  with  the  men ;  both  Mere  decently 
and   suitably   clad,   good   strong    homespun   being  rather 
common   with   the  latter.      That   the   I.dies  had   not   ex- 
haused   the   wealth   of    their  wardrobes,    or   brought   out 
their  best  at  so  unfavourable  an  hour  for  legitimate  dis- 
play, I  was  impressively  assured ;   and  more  than  one  of 
the  sex— m  each  case  a  matron  of  mature  years— volun- 
teered an  apology  for  aUeged  inelegance  of'  costume  the 
result,  as  they  urged  hi  extenuation  of  their  sins  against 
iUishion,  of  the  haste  required  in  order  'to  overtake  Mass  ' 
As  a  proof  that  there  is  no  lack  of  symprthy  between  the 
occupjont  of  the  palace  and  the  tenant  of  the  wilderness  I 
may  mention,  as  an  interesting  fact,  that  on  the  ^>.^  of  the 
bed-room  m  .vhich  I  enjoyed  my  first  and  last  night's  rei3ose 
m  the  niidst  of  an  American  forest,  I  observed  a  spe<dmen 
ot  that  intricate  arrangement  which  is  said  to  have  had  -i 
royal  origin,  and  is  known  t-  the  world,  admired  or  exo- 
crated,  by  the   name   of  crhioline.     This   is   given   as   an 
instance,  not  alone  of  the  omnipotent  rule  and  universal 
s-ay  of  Fashion,  but  of  the  pi-ogress  of  an  Irish  settle- 
ment in  the  path  of  modern  civilisation. 

Beneath  the  groined  roof  of  ]  it,  cathedral  thore  never 
knelt  a  more  devout  congregation  (Lan  that  which  bowed 
in  lowly  reverence  before  the  rude  altar  of  the  htile  rustic  ' 
cliapel  of  Johnvme.  Here  was  no  magnificence  of  aVchi- 
tecture,  no  pomp  of  ceremonial,  no  pealing  organ  no 
glorious  work  of  tLe  great  masters  of  sacred  «ung;  here 


72 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


were  no  gorgeous  pictures  glowing  from  painted  windows 
no  myriad  lights  on   the  altar  and  in  the  sanctuary,  no 
priests  in  golden  vestments,  no  robed  attendants  swinging 
silver   thuribles  liUed   with    perfumed    incense,— none   of 
tliese ;  but  a  little  structm-c  of  the  simplest  form,  covered 
with  shingle,  and  as  free  from  ornament  or  decoration  as 
the  shanty  of  the  settler— with  an  altar  of  boards  clumsily 
put  together,  and  covered  with  a  dean  but  scanty  hnen 
cloth.     But   those  who  knelt  there  that  morning  felt  no 
want,  missed  no  accessory  sighed  for  no  splendour ;  their 
piety  required  no  aid  to   inflame   or   sustain   ii      Exiles 
from  a  Catholic  land,  they  were  once  more  under  a  sacred 
roof,  once  more  listening  in  the  voice  of  their  Church— onco 
more  iissisting  at  the  celebration  of  Mass.     And  when  the 
Bishop  addressed  them  in  siaiple  and  impressive  language, 
such  as  a  father  might  fittingly  .uldress  to  his  chFldren,' 
and  promised  that  he  was  about  to  gratify  the  wish  of  their 
hearts  by  sending  a  priest  to  hve  amongst  them,  a  deep 
murmur  of  dehght  evinced  the  joy  and  gratitude  of  the 
devoted  people.     These,  indeed,  were  tidings  of  gladness, 
the  fulfilment  of  thiir  fondest  hopes,  wanting  which,  ma- 
terial comfort  and  worldly  prosperity  would  be  in  vain.' 

Through  one  door  the  women  passed  out,  through  the 
other  the  men.     By  the  latter  sex  I  was  at  once  surrounded, 
and  I  was  soon  satisfied  that  every  province  and  most  of 
the  counties  in  Ireland  had  a  representative  in  that  con- 
gregation.    For  a  good  hour  they  talked  and  chatted  out- 
side the  little  church,  though  the  air  was  keen  and  the 
morning  still  raw.     They  eagerly  enquired  after  places  as 
well  as  persons,  priests  or  poHticians,  and  '  how  the  old  coun- 
try was  getting  on,'  and  '  whether  anything  was  really  to  be 
done  for  it  ? '     One  gave  a  case  of  oppression,  another  of 
hopeless  struggle  against  rack  rent  or  insecure  tenure,  as 
the  reason  of  his  flight  from  the  land  of  his  fathers.     But 
of  their  new  home  not  one  had  a  desponding  word  to  say. 
They  spoke  with  pride  of  their  hard  work,  and  their  steady 


1  windows 
ctnniy,  no 
s  swinging 
— none  of 
n,  covered 
oration  as 
Is  clumsily 
iintj  linen 
ig  felt  no 
mr;  their 
fc-.  Exiles 
r  a  sacred 
roll — onco 

when  the 
language, 

children, 
li  of  their 
n,  a  deep 
le  of  the 
gladness, 
hich,  ma- 
vain, 
ough  the 
•rounded, 

most  of 
that  con- 
Ited  out- 

and  the 
places  as 
aid  coun- 
dly  to  be 
lotlier  of 
3nure,  as 
rs.  But 
1  to  say, 
ir  steady 


NEITHER  RENT  NOR  'GALE.' 


78 


progress,   and    the    future    which    they  confidently  anti- 
cipated. , 

'Well,  thank  God,  'tis  our  own,  any  how,  and  nobody  can 
take  it  from  us,'  said  one  of  the  settlers  ;  to  which  there 
was  a  general  chorus  of  'amens,'  and  'true  for  you.' 

'Take  care,  Mick,  you  havn't  the  lialf-year's  rent  ready 
so  don't  be  crowinir.'  ' 

This  pleasant  saUy  from  a  wag  much  tickled  the  audience, 
who,  to  do  them  justice,  were  willing  to  laugh  at  the  smaU- 
est  joke. 

"Tis  true,  Dan,  boy  ;  but  there's  nobody  lookin'  for  it,* 
rephed  Mick,  who  added,  in  a  voice  of  affected  commisera- 
tion that  was  'as  good  as  a  play,'  and  was  rewarded  with  an 
approving  shout—'  but,  faith,  I'm  thinking  the  agmt  has 
the  mazles,  or  the  rhumatiz,  poor  man !  or  he'd  be  here 
before  now  for  it.' 

'Jimmy'— to   my  friend    of  the   day  before— 'is   vour 
gale  to   the  fore?'    asked  a  pleasant  -  looking  Tipperary 

'Little  we  trouble  ourselves  with  gales,  or  storms  aither 
m  these  parts,'  rephed  Mr.  M'Alhster,  whose  innocent 
wit  was  rewarded  with  such  vociferous  applause  that  I 
dreaded  the  effect  on  his  naturally  abundant  vanity 

'  True  for  you,  Jimmy,  the  misthress  attends  to''  the  riiit, 
and  that  kind  of  business.  I  hope  she'll  be  sure  and  keep 
the  resate,--'tis  bad  to  lose  the  writin'— as  I  know  to 
my  cost.'  ' 

'  There's  a  boy,'  said  Mr.  M'AlHster,  pointing  to  a  vigor- 
ous young  settler  of  some  six  feet  in  his  vamps,  'and  I 
ask  you,  sir,_this  blessed  morning,  wasn't  it  a  mortial  sin 
to  turn  his  father,  and  three  boys  as  likely  as  himself,  out 
of  tlie  ould  country?  Sheep  they  wanted,  indeed!  Chris- 
tians wouldn't  do  'em.  Well,  the  Lord  had  a  hand  in  it 
after  aU,  for  here  they  are,  aU  the  boys,  with  their  hun- 
dred acres  apiece;  and  what  do  you  think,  sir— eh, 
Terrenco,  my  back !    Faith,  sir,  hes  looking  out  akeady.' 


74 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Don't  mind  the  boys  laughing,  Terry ;  you'll  never  do  it 
younger.  But,  sir,  there  they  are,  them  four  fine  lads,  and 
every  man  of  them  the  lord  of  his  own  estate.  After  all, 
there's  nothing  hke  being  a  man's  own  master.' 

'  He  doesn't  always  be  that  same,  Mr.  M'AlHster,  when 
once  he's  married,'  suggested  one  of  the  bystanders,  with 
a  sly  twinkle  in  his  eye. 

Mr.  M'AUister  did  not  seem   to  have  heard  the  obser- 
vation ;  nevertheless  he  rapidly  changed  the  conversation, 
and,  i^lunging  deep  into  the  poHtics  of  Europe,  appeared 
immensely  interested  in  the   intentions  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  towards   the   Court   of  Kome.      Jimmy  was  in 
high  spirits  that  sharp  morning,  influenced  not  a  Httle  by 
the  knowledge  that  his  excellent  wife  was  then  enjoying 
*  a  comfortable  snooze  in  her  best  feather  bed  '  at  the  safe 
distance  of   half  a  dozen  miles  from  where  her  husband 
stood,  the  centre  of  an  admiring  circle.     It  was  not  the 
right  occasion  for  airing  a  grievance  ;  and,  indeed,  his  pet 
grievance— the  want  of  the  resident  clergyman— had  been 
so  completely  demohshed  by  the  assurance  publicly  given 
by  the  Bishop,  that  it  was  hopelessly  past  use.     The  tem- 
porary delay  in   establishing    the   second    school  in   the 
settlement  afforded  him  both  a  theme  and  a  consolation  ; 
but  even  of  this  text  for  an  occasional  harangue  he  was 
soon  to  be  deprived.     Jimmy  may  now  be  in  search  of  a 
grievance  ;  and,  when  found,  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  may  not 
be  a  very  serious  one— barely  sufficient  to  afford  a  gentle 
provocation  to  amicable  discussion. 

To  my  humble  self,  I  must  gratefully  admit,  Mr.  M'Alis- 
ter  did  the  honours  of  the  settlement  in  a  manner  at  once 
affable  and  i^atronising. 

When  we  took  our  departure,  which  was  not  achieved 
without  vigorous  and  repeated  hand-shakings,  and  prayers 
and  blessings  unnumbered,  we  were  accompanied  a  couple 
of  miles  of  the  road  by  the  Resident  Magistrate  of  the 
settlement,  who  also  combined  in  his  own  person  the  addi- 


Gver  do  it 

!  Lids,  and 

After  all, 

iter,  when 
ders,  with 

he  obser- 
versation, 
appeared 
Emperor 
J  was  in 
I  little  by 
enjoying 
t  the  safe 
husband 
I  not  the 
1,  his  pet 
had  been 
cly  given 
rhe  tem- 
1  in   the 
solation  ; 
3  he  was 
irch  of  a 
may  not 
a  gentle 


OTHER  IRISH  SETTLEMENTS.  75 

tional  dignities  of  Captain  of  Militia  and  Conncillor  of  the 
1  ansli.  Mr.  Cummins  was  himself  one  of  the  settlers  and 
ho  recounted  with  modest  pride  the  story  of  his  'early 
cUorts  and  his  daily  increasing  prosperity 

On  our  return  to  St.  John  we  met  the  Post-Master- 
General--a  Scotchman-who  had  recently  paid  an  official 
visit  to  the  se  tlement ;  and  he  was  loud  in  the  expression 
of  Ins  astonishment  at  the  progress  which  the  pe  pie  had 
made  m  so  short  a  time,  and  at  the  unmistakable  evidences 
of  comfort  he  beheld  in  every  direction. 

The  settlement  of  Johnvillo  is  but  one  of  four  which  Dr 
Sweeny  estabhshed  within  a  recent  time.  He  has  thus 
succeeded  m  estabHshing,  as  settlers,  between  700  and  800 
famihes,  or,  at  an  average  of  five  persons  to  each  family 
between  3,500  and  4,000  individuals.  The  description 
given  of  JohnviUe  would  generally  apply  to  the  other  set- 
tlements; the  difference,  whatever  it  might  be,  arisin;. 
more  from  the  quality  of  the  land  than  any  other  cause 


M'Alis- 
r  at  once 


achieved 
prayers 
a  couple 
e  of  the 
he  adfli. 


re 


TlIK  ll.'ISII  IS  AMMUK^A. 


(UlAITKIt  LV. 


Irish  tvlio  sclllc  on  lln«  I.iiiid  'I'licir  Sik-ccsm  TlnMr  rro^nt'ss  in 
Si.  .Idlin  Tiii«'('  Irisliiiu'u  A  Sniiill  Hej^inninjic  'i'l'Htinion  v  iiT  ii 
HcUust  Indt'pcndt'nt— Tosilion  of  Irisli  ('nllinli,  -  'I'ltc  (liiircli 
in  Now  nrnnswicU  A  Sw<'ft.  Hit,  MisHionui^  /«•!»)  (';illiolici(y 
in  SI.  Juiin     i'u.sl  and  J'n>scnt. 

rpill'ilvK  !U(>  hw^o  (lislritls  in  N(>\v  JJiiiUMviclv  iiluiost 
J|_  oxoliisivcly  iK'cupitHl  Iw  Irish  C/iii holies,  ulu)  hHV«>  been 
from  tw(Mi<y  lo  i'oviy  yciiVH  in  llin  province.  Mniiy  luid 
unxiouH  were  lh(^  (Mniuiries  which  1  ni!i<h^  in  vvory  i\[Ui\'U)v, 
from  persons  in  various  eoiulilions  of  lite,  mid  liolilin^' 
opposite  o]>inions  on  most,  ])ublie  ijueslions  ;  iind  it  is  hut 
siniphi  justice  to  Iho  r(>[)r(>s(Mitatives  of  thii  Iiisli  nic*-  in 
that  })ortion  of  iho  Am(>riean  (U)ntinent  t.o  slide,  that  the 
universal  testinnmy  was  in  favour  of  their  thrift,,  indusiiy, 
enerj^y,  and  honesty.  This  was  tho  testimony,  not  nuM-ely 
of  memhera  of  their  own  church,  who  might  naturally  ho 
inclined  to  exagj^erato  tho  merits,  ov  to  dcial  leniently  with 
tho  demerits,  of  those  of  their  own  faith  and  eountiy  ;  it 
was  tho  testimony  o(  S(H)tch  Presbyterians,  ]On«>lish  Pro- 
testants, and  the  aristocratic,  descendants  of  th(>.  ori<.^inal 
colonists.  I  liavo  been  repeatedly  assured  that  tlu;  Irish 
were  among.st  the  best  settlers  in  tlu;  i)roVinc(>  ;  and  W(!ro 
T,  from  a  feelin<:j  of  false  delicacy,  to  refrain  from  repeatiu}.,' 
tliis  creditable  judgment  in  their  favour,  I  should  be  doin<.j 
them  a  grievous  wrong,  and  denying  them  a  merit  freely 
accorded  to  them  by  those  who,  however  individually  just 
and  fair-minded,  entertain  no  special  love  either  for  theii" 
country  or  their  creed. 

As  a  rule,  then,  admitting  of  rare  exceptions,  the  Irish 
who  )ie(tle  on  tlie  kvid,  and  devote  themselves  to  its  cul- 
tivation,   do    weU,    realise    property,   accumulate    money, 


TlllOIlt  ILOCUKSH  IN  ST.  JOHN. 


77 


Hlin'dUMl    MieiUHol 


tl 


v(!H    uiMi   H(t!i«l   <-()iiiforl 


H'lr 


nuulwH   roHp-<.f',l,|y.      ]|„„,lr(.,lH  of 


w,  »iri<j    ]}v\n^  \ 


moui'u>uv.d  of  liiHliiiM 
cojidilioii,  wlio,  u|„.,,  <), 
liil) 


<'UH<H   could    bo 


"'••^.•iiiull.y   of   (|,„    v,Ty    liUfnIiloHt 
y  rnmo.  out  liiHt,  work(!<l  hh  fi 


>iir<'rH    for    otliciH,    uiid 
<'fy  im.l)oHy  <m  which    they  i,.ih,d   hV  Uirir  duil 


UlU- 


Oll     <hc    OIK)    lljiiwl    fl 


now    o(r(!|ll.y,     ilH     OWIK'J'H,     Uio 

y  hrciud. 


ilio  ol,ii(.r,    iliiift  and  induHt, 


,  IlKWO    W'llH  W)lHi(!    Hlld    (;\t| 


UVii;.()Uir() ;  on 


•'    •■'■''"  "•"'I   iiMiuHir,  ,    with    till 

il'Hi,   lh(.  laiirr  tool;   ih„  j.ht,.,.  vvhicli  il„3  f, 
la)ld. 


iMi   Uw   iiutiinil  roHiilf,, 
oriiior  could  not 


iiiKXiciipicd,  wliicJi   havo 
•■'•I        and  Jh'h  a.sHiHi- 


H.id  of  ll.iH  I;    .duny(pmiilit,y  iMuybo  had  h 


«»   on    easy   i(>rni,s.     Thus,   f. 


OIll 


I) 


If) 


or  iiiHtaiico,  for   a 


Ninii  ot 


<'!<'  lire  jiiillioiiH  of  acr(!H  yot 
]|<'V(U-  I)('<>ii     i.sil(.<l  Havo   by  Uio  hniil 

.'Ulfs 

Sbi< 

|iO/..H  properly  <.oMsislin^.  of  500  acrcK  iriay  bo  purchanod 
n.  Kcw  HruMNw.ck-ri.ay  bo  liold  as  lorif.  aH  ^.rann  ..rows 
nnd  waior  runs.  IJ.if,,  all.o^.oihor  i..d<.pnndont  (,f  Iho  ]and 
iliat  n.ay  bo  had  froi.,  tlio  Stale,  (,iih.r  by  purchase  or 
under  tho  provisions  of  fho  Labour  A.i,  ihoro  uro  cultivafc.l 
farms  which,  like  all  oIIum-  <lescript,ions  of  proj,orty  aro 
c-ouslantly  in  iho  niarkofc ;  and  iho  tluifty  nmn-iho  sober 
ami  prmleni  nian.-who  waf,ch(,s  tho  opportunity  of  pnr- 
chasni-  to  adv!i,ntii,{.-o,  may  do  so  at  almost  any  time 

Tho  Irish,   ri-ot(.stants  and  Catholics,   hold  a  most  im- 
portant position  in  St.  John,  and  may  be  said  to  own  fully 
half  the  property  and  wc.iltli  of  that  bustling,  active  city 
Of   this   prop(n-ty   an<I    wealth,    tho    Catholics,    who     willi 
scarce  an  exception,  aro  Irish,  possess  a  consich^rable  'share 
And  Avhat  they  possess  they  realised  for  thems(!]vos.     Tho 
inajority  of  those  who  are  now  respected  for  the  position  " 
tiey   occupy,    and  which   position   is    enhanced    l)y  th.-ir 
oh:a-actor   for  honour   and    integrity,    came   out   poor-in 
many  instimcos  absolutely  penniless ;  but  thov  stnpped  to 
ho  ^-ork  before  them,   and  climbed,  with  steady  eneim- 
lr()m  the  lowest  rung  of  the  social  ladder  to  wealth  and 
iiH.epondonce.     Tiaro  indeed  is  the   instMuce  of  a  youno 


-ia 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


14 


12.2 

M 

1.8 


1.4 


1.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


./:-: 


>%  # 


^A 


'C^ 


78 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA, 


man  having  come  out  with  a  tolerably  weU-fiUed  purse. 
'I  had  not  a  pound  in  the  world  when  I  landed  here/  ig 
the  boast  of  nine  out  of  ten  who  owe  their  present  proud 
position  to  their  own  unaided  exertions.  And  when  de- 
scribing how  several  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  modern  emi- 
grants succeeded  in  life,  some  one  who  knew  the  city  well 
would  say :  '  Such  a  maJi  first  worked  as  a  labourer ;  I 
'remember  this  man  in  a  sawmiU ;  that  man  commenced 
*asa  lumberman;  one  was  a  gardener,  another  a  porter, 

*  another  a  pedlar  :  and  now  such  a  man  is  worth  2,G00Z. ; 
'such  a  man,  5,000Z. ;  such  a  man,  10,000^. ;  such  a  man' 
*20,000;.;    such   a  man,   50,000^.:    but,   sir,   aU  made   by 

*  honesty,  energy  and  good  conduct.'    This  is  literaUy  the 
history— the  noble  history— of  many  a  man  in  St.  John, 
who  is  a  credit  to   the  country  of  his  adoption,  and  an 
honour  to   the    land   of    his    nativity.      Even  those  who 
enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  good  education  had,  when  they 
started,   Httle  more   of  worldly  goods  than  those  whose 
only  possessions  were  their  strength,  their  honesty,  their 
strength  or  their  skiU;  and  in  the  hard  struggle  upwards, 
that  incalculable  advantage  necessarily  told  in  their  favour! 
But  in  aU  cases,  education  or  no  education,  whether  the 
young  adventurer  brought  with  him  the  well-won  honours 
of  Old  Trinity,  or   the   learning  picked   up   in  a  village 
school,  steadiness,  sobriety,  and  good  conduct  were  essen- 
tial to  success. 

The  possession  of  *a  Httb  money '  is  very  useful  to  an;y 
man  who  emigrates  to  a  new  country,  especiaUy  when  he 
has  a  family  to  provide  for.  But  it  has  been  confidently 
asserted,  by  experienced  observers  of  the  early  struggles 
and  successful  career  of  their  countr:>Tnen,  that  the  most 
fortunate  men  came  out  'without  a  pound  in  their  pocket,' 
or,  as  they  phrased  it,  without  '  anything  wor: -i  speaking  of.'' 
This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  necessity  which  compels 
a  man  without  money,  in  a  strange  place,  to  set  to  work 
at  onc^j,  and  at  anything  that  offers;  whereas  the  man  with 


ere  essen- 


A  SMALL  BEGINNING.  75 

a  emaU  capital  is  perhaps  incliued  to  look  about  him  too 
oiig,  expecting,  hke  Mr.  Micauber,  that  'something  ,vill 
turn  up,  ana  may  thus  lose  the  opportunity,  or  fritter  away 
the  energy  essential  to  success.  I  wis  much  struck  with 
Uie  histones  of  three  Irishmen  whom  I  met  while  in  New 
Brunswick  One  was  a  sturdy  Independent,  ft-om  the 
neighbourhood  of  Belfast ;  the  others  were  Catholics- one 
from  Sweet  Glanmire,'  near  the  city  of  Cork,  the  other 
from  the  county  Fermanagh. 

The  Cork  man's  first  enquiry  was,  'Why,  then,  how's 
Beamish  and  Crawford  ?*_are  they  ahye  at  iUl  »' 

Havmg  satislied  my  cheery  acquaintance  on  that  head 
by  assuring  h.m  that  Beamish  and  Crawford  were  as  well 
as^hecould  wish  them  to  be,  I  suggested  a  leading  ques- 

'I  suppase    Mr.  M'Carthy,  you  had  to  fight  your  way  ^ 

hke  the  rest  of  our  countrymen?" 
'Faith,  and  that  I  had,  sir,  and  no  mistake.     All  I 

owned  in  the  world,  when  I  got  as  far  as  Frederickton, 

was  twenty-five  cents,  and  sm-e  enough  that  same  was  no 
left  long  in  my  pocket,  as  I'll  tell  you-and  it  makes  me 

augh  now  when  I'm  teUing  it,  though  it  was  far  fi-om  I 
laughing  matter  then.     I  took  the  twenty-five  cents  out 
of  my  pocket,  and  I  put  them  in  my  hand,  and  I  looked 
at  them  and  looked  at  them,  and  I  thought  to  myself  they 
were  ^,,Uy  little  for  a  man  to  begin  the  world  with  ;  but    ■ 
faith,  sir,    here  was  no  help  for  it,  and  I  had  my  health 
and  sh-ength,  and  aU  I  wanted  was  work  to  do,  fo"^  I  C 
equal  for  it.    Well,  sir,  small  as  the  twenty-five  cents  looLd 
m  my  hand,  they  looked  smaUer  soon.     I  felt  myself  very 

f  houf     ''■,""'^A™"'''^  "  ^""^  "'  ''''  '^^'J  •'  «°  I™»t  into 
a  house  and  said  to  a  woman  I  met  there,  "Ma'am,  I'll  feel 

It  to  me.         Certainly,  young  man,"  says  she,  for  she  waa 

•  Ono  of  Ibo  most  emine.l  and  respectcl  browing  Arms  in  Ireland. 


fe:  I 


80 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


nifi 


civil-spoken  enough,  and  I  was  quite  a  young  fellow  in 
them  clays  ;  "certainly,"  says  she,  "you  must  have  a  cup 
of  tea,  young  man  ;  but  you  must  pay  me  twelve  cents  for 
it."  "Beggars  can't  be  choosers,"  says  I  to  mysell,  "so 
here  goes  for  the  tea."  That  cup  of  tea  made  a  large  hole 
in  my  twenty-five  cents,  and  the  bed  and  the  breakfast 
next  morning  put  the  finish  to  my  capital.  But,  sir,  as 
the  Lord  would  have  it,  I  got  a  lucky  job  from  a  good 
gentleman  that  same  day  ;  and  when  he  saw  that  I  was 
steady,  and  didn't  want  to  spare  myself,  he  gave  me  more 
to  do.  From  that  day  to  this  I've  never  been  idle,  and 
always  steady,  and  keeping  away  fi-om  the  drink,  unless  a 
little  in  reason,  once  in  a  way  ;  and  now,  glory  be  to  God 
for  it !  I  have  enough  for  myself  and  my  family,  and  I'm 
doing  a  good  busi:iess,  and  have  something  put  by.  But, 
sir,  wasn't  it  a^smaU  begmning?  Faith,  I  can't  help 
laughing  when  I  think  of  the  twenty-five  cents,  and  the 
big  hole  that  cup  of  tea  made  in  it.' 

The  Fermanagh  man  was  then  living  upon  his  income, 
which  was  stiU  considerable,  though  he  had  educated  and 
provided  for  a  large  family.  It  was  his  boast  that  '  all  he 
had  in  the  world  when  he  landed  from  Ireland  was  a 
dollar  and  a  shilling.'  Industry,  perseverance,  and  good 
conduct  did  the  rest. 

I  shall  allow  the  Belfast  Independent  to  speak  in  his 
own  words,  his  testimony  in  favour  of  his  countrymen 
being  too  valuable  to  be  omitted.  He  is— or  was  in 
October,  1866— a  member  of  the  Government,  though 
without  a  portfoho,  his  important  private  affairs  requiring 
his  i^rincipal  attention. 

'  I  had  to  work  my  way  up,  with  no  one  to  help  me  but 
myself.  I  hterally  had  nothing  when  I  began— nothing 
in  the  shape  of  money  or  friends  ;  but  I  got  on  from  one 
thing  to  another,  and  I  am  now,  thank  God,  all  right  ai.  d 
getting  along.  I  think  it  does  a  man  good  to  be  obliged 
to  work  his  own  way  in  life  ;  I  know  it  did  me  good,  and 


TESTIMONY  OF  A  BELFAST  INDEPENDENT. 


81 


am  1 


!iapi?ier  than  if 


Iff 


r  father  or  grandfather  had  done 

bZ   wT  f    f       '  '"■■  "'"y  "'•'^  ■^"W'^'-  °ff  «"»'  if  they'd 
been  left  fortuaes-for  iu  that  ease  they  miM.t  be  only 

'    bl-ves  r  t  ^'"''"  ''™°  °'  "^  "•^°  ^'S-n  «s  poor 

'Irish/ I  repeated. 

yes,  ana  as  savmo-  •   nnrl  +T,nTr  ^.^4.  j     ,  ^^'--uo 

the  rest-Engh.h    80!,,  oT  .^BtCr  ■'  AU  tT  ^"^"  "^ 
.s,ust  to  teep  a.ay  from  the  li.«o~ "  .si^t^fore: 

was   oW  ?  ''^  r"'\'"''  ^'"■'"P^  "'»-■  «  the  euth-e  trua  , 
upid  o^rSoT,      ^  but  .hen  the  Enghshman  wUlbe 

IrlmCim  5 tun  ;,:"t    ':  ''T'  '"  ^  ^"™'--  ^^^ 

fortable  they  are,   ahd  ^vSlt  let  tW  Lr/'"/  H 
you'd    come   to    the    Irish    settlemM,  '^ 

Stephen's,   Charlotte  County       C!       "'T    "''    "'    «'•     ' 
among  them  all-vet  tW     ,/  ''   "°'  ""  P°°''  '"™ 

of  contradiction  ■  ™'W.-that  I  say  without  fear 

•  You  must  know  your  countrymen  weH.'  I  suggested. 


i     I 


82 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


*That  I  ought.  I  am  in  this  country  nearly  forty 
years,  and  I  saw  the  first  of  their  coming  here.  They 
have  gone  on  -vvonderfully,  surely — all  must  admit  that. 
And  there  isn't  anything  like  the  drink  there  was  among 
them.  I  have  expo  ience  of  that  in  my  own  business.  I 
am  perhaps  as  largely  in  tho  lumber  business  as  any  man 
in  the  Province,  and  I  employ  a  great  many  men.  Some 
of  it  is  very  nice  work,  I  assure  you ;  and  for  skill  and 
judgment,  when  once  he  gets  to  know  his  business,  I  say 
I  prefer  the  Iridiman.  And,  sir,  there  isn't  that  danger 
that  ever  was  that  will  frighten  liim ;  I've  seen  him  as 
steady  as  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  rapids.  As  to  the 
drink,  when  a  party  went  into  the  woods  formerly,  they 
could  do  nothing  without  the  whiskey,  and  the  keg  of 
spirits  was  as  necessary  to  the  lumberman  as  the  barrel  of 
flour  or  meat,  or  the  store  of  groceries ;  but  lately  it  is 
not  thought  of — and  so  much  the  better ;  people  get  along 
as  well  and  better  without  it,  and  they  save  their  money 
into  the  bargain,  ind  let  the  sober  Irishman  alone  for 
saving! — faith  he  scarcely  has  his  equal  for  that  in  this 
Province.' 

I  remarked  that  it  was  pleasant  to  licar  so  good  an 
account  of  one's  countrymen,  especially  as  there  were 
too  many  in  the  world  not  inchned  to  think  favourably 
of  them. 

'Well,  that  is  true;  theie  are  too  many  who  bother 
themselves  about  people's  religion,  and  who  won't  give 
Catholics  a  good  word;  but,  for  my  part,  I  Hve  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  I  find  they  are  in  every  way  equal  to 
any  others  that  you  can  mention.  Then  as  for  the  Priest, 
why  I  olways  see  him  going  among  his  flock,  settling 
differences  when  they  happen,  and  taking  the  greatest 
care  of  the  children.  I  havn't  a  better  or  fasl  friend 
than  Father ,  thou2fh  I  am  not  of  his  church.     But 


•o' 


for  the  Irish,  I  know  them  well,  and  what  I  say  of  them 
is  before  my  eyes  every  day.' 


POSITION  OF  IKISU  CATHOLICS.  g, 

ftffht  not  only  ,n  New  Brunswick,  or  the  other  British 
Provmces  but  throughout  the  States,  inust  bo  obvious  o 
any  one  who  coasidcrs  the  circumstance.,  under  wh.I  le 

lehgious,   which   besot    his    path  iu  the   country  of    his 

oftvtiiff  '  ","  '•««"""*  vicious  laws  rather  than 

llTomtrr^  ""  r  P"'*  *°  '"---g-he  had  little  in 
le   olZ    Th  «™'7thing  agamst  him.     Many  of 

the  older  settlers  were  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans 
of  New  England,  and  the  sectarian  prejudices  of  h dr 
fathers  still  survived  in  the    breasts    of   their    childreT 

a"a-ift\h7l','r!fv'''  '"  '^--l"-'-"-  the  fee^g 
against  the  Irish  Catholics  was  stronger  when  they  were 
few  in  number,  and  their  strength  was  altogether  fiiTI! 
n ificant,  or  when  they  grew  into  an  important  sect  on  o^f 
e  population  and  their  influence  became  perceptible  in 
«  e  pohtics  a.,  ,n  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  Prov  nee 
The  prejudice  which  they  had  to  encounter  was  ne  ther 
latent  nor  sl„mbori„g_it  was  open  and  active  ;  it  me   ft 
Cathohc  Irishman  in  every  rank  of  life  and  in  e  -cry  branch 

wh  h  T'''  T  r°*,'""«  ^''°'-'  "'  *"«  i-l-"table  .1"^; 
which,  throughout  the  American  continent,  the  rac  ha™ 
shown  themselves  to  possess,  could  have  aised  so  lail 
a  number  of  them  in  New  Brunswick  above  the  rudetl 
employment  or  the    humblest    fortune.     And    yet    wS 

insh  m  St.  John,  and  tliroughout  the  province  generaUv 
a  considerable  proportion  are  to  be  found  in  every  dt^: 
ment  of  business,  and  enjoy,  as  merchants,  traders  and 
manufacturers,  the  highest  position  which  diaract":  "d 

™e  1^  w\  """'""  *°  ""^''^  P"^^^^^"'--     And  not  only  is  it 
t^uc  that  the  mercantile  and  trading  class  among  the  Iri.sh 
Catholics  are   equal   in   enterprise,   and  even   •go-ahoad 
-hness."  to  the  most  advanced  of  those  who  have    t  ght 


84 


TIIH  IlilSII  IN  AMiailCA. 


ihn  rif^lii  H[)irit  from  (heir  iu»i}^'hl»()m'M  of  ilio  StatoH,  but 
ilicro  in  ji  liir<;;o  jiniouiil,  of  [irojxuly  licld  by  tho  workiiif:? 
('liiMH{>s.  Aiul  (his  applies  with  <'((iial  ai'curacy  to  FnMltU'ic.k- 
ioM,  Woodslock,  ('lull ham,  (Mu><liac, — whortivor  tho  Imh 
liavo  oslablisluMl  llKuiiMdlvos  in  iiiimbci'H,  or  hud  a  f'.iir 
oi»(>ninjj[  for  iho  (^x(>rciHo  of  industry,  inti'lli^on(u\  ami 
ilirifl.  Tho  Trisli  ProtoHtaut  lia<l  f(!\v('r  ditllcullicH  to 
oncouutcu'  iliau  his  Catliohci  countrymen,  and  ho  in 
{jf(Miorally  to  bo  fouml  jji  llourishiii"^'  circumstancos.  Simi- 
hirity  of  n>hj^ion  \\\ih  tluit  of  tho  woaltliior  portion  of  tlio 
mass  of  tlio  popuhition  Avas  always  oi  {^roat  assistance  to 
tho  Prottvstant  cmi^n-ant  to  Anu>rica, 

Tho  lusl(ny  of  the  ('aJiohc  Church  tlmmj^hout  Anuirica 
is  also  tho  history  of  tho  Irisli  raco  in  iho  New  AVorld. 
l^his  is  as  true  of  tho  British  l*rovinc<^s,  with  tho  exceptiou 
of  Lo^ver  Canada,  as  of  tlio  United  States.  From  thia 
point  of  view  it  nuiy  prove  interesting  to  describe  briefly 
tho  f^rowth  and  progress  of  tho  C-hurch  in  Now  Bruns- 
wick. 

It  is  htth>  more  than  lil'ty  years  since  a  Kilkenuy  collo- 
«;ian  was  t>rdaintHl  in  t^ni4)e(r  by  the  IMsliop  of  that  city, 
wlios(i  spiritual  jui'isdiclion  then  extt>nded  over  New  Bruns- 
wick and  otluu'  mariliim^  provinces  of  Nortli  America. 
Father  Dollard — for  that  was  tho  young  priest's  name — • 
Avaa  sent  to  Cape  Breton  as  a  missionary  amcuig  tho 
Indians,  who,  having  boon  originally  converted  by  tho 
Jesuits,  those  faithfnl  and  fearless  soldiers  oi  tho  Cross, 
adhered  with  remarkable  tidelity  to  the  religion  taught 
them  by  the  '  black  gowns.'  AVhile  with  this  simple  tlock 
the  voung  Irish  missionary  led  a  life  of  tho  severest  hard- 
ship.  Living  with  them  in  their  camps,  he  shared  with 
them  all  the  privations  to  which  they  were  peculiarly  ex- 
posed. Al'any  years  after,  when  Bishop  of  Frederickton. 
the  venerable  }n-iest  would  take  delight  in  narrating  anec- 
dotes of  his  mission  among  the  Vred  skins.' 

Father  Dollard  was  sunniionod  on  one  occasion  to  visit 


A  SWEET  BIT-A  BRAVE  TUIEST. 


85 


an  Indian  v,\n,  lay  at  tlio  point  of  tloaili  far  away  in  tho 
forest— a  (listaucu)  of  twonty-sovcn  niiloM.     It  was  uiid-win- 
tor,  and  ilio  j^a-ound  wa.s   everywhere   covoiimI  Avitli   dccip 
Hnow.     Ac(!onii)ani(!d  by  lii.s  fjnide,  armed  with  a  stout  wtafi; 
and  hiw  feet  protected  by  Hnow  shoes,  the  priest  was  soon 
on  his  way.     Before  startinf,'  he  shared  his  breakfast  with 
his  companion,  who,  with   connnendabk)  forethonoht,  but 
mueli    to  tho  disgust  of   his  rffvercnd  friend,  eooUy  took 
from  tho  table  tho  remnant  of  tho  meat,  rolled  it  in  a  rag 
of  most  nninviting  appearance,  and  placed  it  in  his  ponch, 
which  ho  liid  away  in  his  breast.     When  tho  travellers  had 
accomplished  ten  miles  of  their  arduous  journey,  they  sat 
down  on   a   fallen   tree   to   rest.     Iiero   tho   Indian  drew 
forth  his  treasure  from  its  hiding-place,  unrolled  the  un- 
pleasant-looking   rag  with  much    solemnity,  and,  cutting 
ofl'  a  portion  of  tho  meat,  politely  handed  it  to  tho  mis- 
sionary,   saying,  'Father,  you    take    bit    of    this?'      The 
young  priest  shuddertnl  at  tho  proffered  dainty,  but  quiet- 
ly declined  the  courteous  invitation,   on  tho  plea  of  not 
being  hungry.     '  Then  me  eat  it,  Father,'  said  the  Indian, 
who  devoured  tho  morsel  with  every  appearance  of  the  most 
intense  rehsh.     At  the  end  of  live  miles  more  of  weary  trudg- 
hig  through  tho  snow,  the  pair  again  rested,  the  priest  feel- 
ing faint  as  well  as  tired.     Again  the  Indian  drew  forth  his 
treasure,   which    the   priest   now  viewed   with    somewhat 
dili\)rent  feelings  to   what  he  had  beheld  it  on   previous 
occasions,  and  not  with  the  same  involuntary  rising  of  the 
fiorire.     Cutting  off  a  liberal  portion,  the  Red  Skin,  with 


an    insinuating  manner,   and    in  the   softest 


voice,   said. 


'  Father,  may  be  you  take  some  now  ? '  «  Yes,  my  child,  I 
think  I  wiU,'  replied  tho  priest.  '  And,  my  dear  sk/  said 
the  Bishop  of  Frederickton,  'I  can  assure  you  I  never  ate 
anything  sweeter  in  all  my  life.' 

While  still  among  the  Indians  of  Cape  Breton,  Father 
DoUard  had  to  remain  for  the  night  in  a  strange  wigwam, 
and  there  being  uo  kind  of  bed  in  the  miserable  dweUini?. 


S 


J 


"  I   Iff 


•0 


TIIK  IIIISII  IN  AMKIIKJA. 


11  (MMK'li  fonucil  of  fn«Hli  jjfrecii  Imui^jIih,  lorn  from  ii  noi^^i- 
lMMlrill^^  in»(>,  wiiM  coMHliiM'h'd  for  liis  \im\.     On  IIiIh  \h\  lay 
titiwii   1(»  rt«Hl,  Imi  \\o  wiiH  iiwiilu'iu'il   in  llio  tniddli*  of  tlio 
iiij^hl,  l»y  <*\('nu'iH,liii}'-  |»niiiH  in   liin  Luck  and  Hliouhlci.s,  :inii 
ill   Iho  niorniii;«;  luMvaH  ilirowi :),.■:  np  Mood.     ( 'onii.cllcd   (o 
r«>hiin   to   I\lonln«al,  wln-ro  \u\  ronld  ohlnin  medical  aHhiHl- 
»uico,.lm  waH  for  (,\vo  yoaiH  an  invalid,  lialf  (ho  (inn^  Ix'in^' 
NjuMit,  in   (ho  hospi  al.      KMonul  at,  h^n^rlh   («»  hoalth     ko 
IVrvtmlly    prayotl    for  by  (h«<    /.(wdoiiH  miHsionary-   hv   waH 
Honi  (o  Miramichi,  in  Ntnv  lirunHwick,  (IiiH  lunv  licM  of  hJH 
lahoui'H  «>\((Muhn.^«-  over  an    imm»MiH(>   Iviwt  of  uninhabilcd 
ooun(rv,  liiH   llock  coiiHiNtin;;-  t»f   iiihcs  of    Indians,  and    a 
IVw  Kcattonul  Fn^ich.  Scotch.   an<l  iri.sh.      AVh(>n  on  Hick 
or    miH.sionary    (hity,    ho    (rav»«lh>d    alonj^'    (ho   river   and 
il.s  (rihn(arit»s  in   a  cnnot*.  always  accompanitul  by  an  lii- 
clian  ;  and  immy  a   (inu>,   wIwmi  neither  wi^wani  nor   ioj^- 
hiit.  was  within  possible  reach,  the  i)riest,  and  his  faithful 
Kuide  had  (o  pass  the  ni«^ht.  t»n  tin*  bare  },n'ound,  under  (ho 
>velcome   Hh(«ltt>r   of    their   uptnrn»Ml   canoe.     From    TMira- 
michi  Father  Dollard  was  transferrtul  (o  FnubMickion,  (he 
enpital  of  New  Ib-nnswicU.     \Vhilt>  lu>rt^  tht^  smMlliH)\,  that 
awful   scour;;'e  of  the   uncivilistul  races  of   man,  made   its 
dreaded   appenrance  anumo-  the  ueij^hbouriuj^'  Indians,  in 
uhoso   camps    it    commi((t>d    dt^plorabh^   ravMf^Hvs.      It   was 
at    such    a   moment   (hat   the    Irish   priest    displayed   (ho 
coura<;e  and  self-ilevotiou  >vhich  formed  so  noble  a  feature 
in  his  charac(er.     AVhen  tlu)  timid  savages  lied  in  horror 
from  the  uiysterious  enemy  that  was  hourly  striking-  (h)wn 
their  s(ou(est  braves,  and  makin^-  desolate  their  wigwams, 
rather   Pollard  knelt  by  the  rude  couch  of  tho  sutVerer, 
luirsed'him.  and  jirayed  with  him.  and  consoled  him  ;  and 
when  dt\ith  relt\is(Hl  the  soul  of  the  poor  Indian  from  its 
swollen  and  ghastly  tem^uu^nt  of  clay,  the  dauutlt>ss  priest 
took  that  festering  body  in  his  arms  or  on  liis  btu-k,  and 
'With  his  own  hamls  placed  it  in  the  grave  which  ho  had  pre- 
viously du^  for  its  reception.     Is  it  to  bo  wondered  at  that 


MISSIONAIIV  '/A']\L 


9ft 


liis  lui  Iiiy 
111*  of  Mm* 

ilc'I'H,   Mild 

pcllcd  (i) 
:a\  HHKiHi- 

IIK)  IxMlljJf 
(MlllJl  -HO 
—  he     \V!lH 

'Id  «>r  liin 
iidial)it<>(l 
M,  mid   u 
I  on  Hick 
ivcr   Hiid 
)V  an  111- 
nor   lo/^- 
^  i'aitlil'nl 
nd(>r  Iho 
m    INIira- 
dtui,  iho 
[U)X,  that 
nado  its 
lians,  in 
It   was 
;Yod   tlio 
i  foaturo 
1  horror 
:ig  down 
i^"waius, 
KufVoror, 
ni  ;  and 
fi-oni  its 
^s  prioat 
U'k,  and 
lad  pre- 
i  at  that 


llio  Clninili  sliould  liavo  mado  tlio  proj^roHH  it  has  done, 
^vlM!n  HiK'li  wan  iiio  H|)irit  of  early  niiHHlonjiriow  V 

l-'aMuT  Dolliird  ri-maincd  at  Frcdcricktc^n  until  1812, 
Avlirn  )i(!  wiiH  (lonHocratcsd  .BislioiMtl"  New  Urnnswurk.  At 
llio  tini(»  lio  ('oninK'ncdd  his  niiHsion  thoro  woro  not  nioro 
than  four  or  livo  ])ri(!HlH  in  tho  (!nlir«»  province;. 

Fatlior   (ia^Mion,  a  Fninch  Canadian,  was  onn  of   those 
Hpiritnal  i)ion(!ors,  and  his  duty  took  him  alouf^  that  portion 
of  tho  Northern  slioro  of  winch  Shcdiac  nniy  bo  dcj.scrihod 
as   tlu)    contro.      And    ron|>li   times    tlu^y   \v(!ro  with   the 
missionary,  who  had  to  encounter  tho  wild  l)hist  and  tlio 
perilous  wave,  as  ho  skirtinl  tho  dan<^<u-ous  shore  in  an  open 
boat,  which    Ik,  was   himself    oft(!n  obli-jfod  to  row.      Not 
unfr(>(pi<>ntly  did  ho  cxperienco  the  inconvenience  of  boin^j 
wrecked  ;    iind  more  than  once  had  tho  tall  {,^'iunt  priest  to 
wade  to  land,  some;  cherished  article  of  property  or  provi- 
sion h(>ld  hif^di  abov(;  the  ra|>in<,'  watcu-s,  to  save  it  from  de- 
struction.    J)e[)endin<r  a  ^'ood  dealon  this  uncertain  means 
of  communication,  i<\itlier  (}aj,Mion    jaid  irrejrular  visits  to 
the  wid{;ly  scatiereul  scittlenumts  of  his  extensive  mission. 
In  tho  same  district  in  which  the  Canadian  priest  thus  pur- 
Kued  his  sacr(>d  callin<j^,  there  Avere  in  180()  six  lar^-o  and 
poi)ul()us  parishes,  with  jjood  churches  and  resident  clergy- 
men. 

AVo  now  turn  to  St.  John,  the  centre  of  a  great  and 
growing  diocese.  There  are  men  still  living— I  have 
spoken  with  some  of  them— who  rememb(u'  the  time  when 
they  could  name  every  Catholic  then  in  that  city.  One  of 
these,  a  Catholic  magistrate,  informed  me  that  when  he 
arrived  from  Ireland,  in  the  year  1818,  there  was  but  '  a 
mere  handful '  of  the  faithful  in  the  town  ;  and  he  well 
remembered  how  'one  Andy  Sullivan,  a  tailor  from 
]>nnd()n,'  had  to  read  prayers  for  them  "in  the  church  of 
St.  Malachy— a  little  tunber  structure,  which  the  ^wor  con- 
grcgati(ui  were  years  trying  to  cover  in  from  the  rain  and 
the  wind,  and  had  no  means  of  warming  for  fourleon  bitter 


i 


88 


Till-;  iinsn  in  amkhica. 


wiiiitviH,  iiiilil   llwir  minilMrs  mimI  tlMir  rcsoiinv-.s  wtMo  in- 
rrniM«'(l.      Tlicro  wiih  luiollicr    iciidci'    lu-.si.lt'H  lli«^  worlliy 
tuilor  IVoiii   IJuikIoii     '  ono   I'hiun^nn,  }ivo\U'r^i>Anvi\  inmi  ;' 
and  thn   vimtH  of   u   prii'sf,  Wiurr  tlu-n   .,1*   only  ot'ciiHioiiul 
(U'ciirrt'iK'o,  Mio  (•(.n<'i>(.o;iiii,,n  ysnv  ^la.l  of  tho  Horvicos  of 
oiui  wlio  fouhl  rciul  wilh  l)('lil,liii;^r  ii.ii)r('ssivoiU!HH  tho  Kpin- 
l\o  1111(1  (JoNjM'l  of  the  (lay,  hiicIi  [)niv(!rH  hh  wow  Hiiilichlo  lo 
Whs  occiiNioii,  with  lurhapH  ii  chupicr  from  tho  work  of  Homo 
l)ioiiH  (liviii(>,  or   a  Hormc/ii  from  oiio  of  tlio  hf^diLs  of  tho 
Churcli.     From  a  (hi/cii,  or  iit  most  twenty  Catholics  fami- 
lioH,    tliti    numluu-   ^q-aduiilly  increasctl,    thon«,'li    io    a   Htill 
sciiuiy  (•()n;^r(M.nlion  and  fcrhlo  community;    l)ut  from  tlio 
yciir   1S21)  tin*  ti(h(  of  tniij^ralion    commenced  to  How  in, 
8h)wly  at.  lir.st,  (n<>ntniilly  witli  ^reaii-r  Htrcnotli  and  a  fuller 
current,  until,  in  a  few  yearH  aft(>r,  (^liholicH  b(>^vau  to  feta 
iluMnselveH  to  US  an  important  jxirtion  of  the  i)0])ul!iti(m. 
Slowly,  laboriously,  and  amidst  nuich  dilHculty  anci  marlvcd 
discouran-ement,  the  Irish  (iatholics  >^rv\v  year  by  y(>ar  into 
a  poKiti»)n  bt)th  prominent  and  influential.     Tho  early  Ca- 
tholic setthn-s  carricnl  with   them  the  impress  of  their  civil 
and   relij^ions   dej^radation  ;    and    even   for  a   considerable 
thue  after  tho  paHsin^M)f  the  Emancipaticm  Act  tho  new- 
conu)rs  were  r(>n^ard(Hl  with  aversion  ami  mistrust  by  tho 
old  colonists,   who   likewise,  and    not   unnaturally,  looked 
upon  them  as  intm-lopers   and  intruders.      But,  'manfully 
and  sti>aclily,  the  Irish  Catholics  won  their  way,  thouf>h  not 
^vithout  many  a  liard  lio-ht  and  many  a  keenly-felt  morti- 
lication,   to    political    inlluenco   and    social   consideration. 
Now  th(>y  kneel  beneath  tho  lofty  roof  of  their  mao-nilicent 
cathedral,  200  feet  in  h^noth,  of  solid   stone,  and"built  at 
a  cost  of  .i,':H),000  ;    and    amono-  them,  white-haired   and 
venerable,  a  few  of  those  who,  in  the  wind-scour<,red  shanty 
of   'tho  church  of  St.  Malachy '—for  which  a  stove  could 
not  be  procured  for  fourteen  lono-  North  American  winters 
--listened  with  doNout  attention  to  tlio  voice  of  Andy  Sul- 
livan, the   tailor  fi'om   Bundon,  and   to  the   more   skilfii] 


CATIIOf.rciTV  PAST  AND  I'UESKNT. 


olociition  of  'olio  Fl 


innifiiTi,  ilio  ('()11(>.^(.-I)r(.,l 


Illi'MK 


.y(!(irH  Huu'v,  nil  ordimuv  room  would  1 


80 


Forfy 


ijivo  alVordodHnrticiciit 
i(!  worsiiipjMrM  of  ilmt,  dny  : 


pour  out  on  Suiidii}H 


Hcroniiuoilation  to  Wm   (!uthol 
now  ooTif^n-c^rjitionH  (,f  2,000  or  ;},000  ^ 

an.l  hoIiduyH  Mirou-h  tlio  Hcnlpiunul  I)ortHlH  of  <lio  ClnircK 
of  i\w  Imnmculutn  (^oiicc-i.tiou.  ()„  All  SiiintH'  Day  I  he- 
held  Huch  a  con^nv^^aiion  insuiuf,^  fn.iu  an  early  ManH,  flll- 
uifT  tlm  Hhrot  in  front  of  tlio  Hplcndid  build 


tl 


U) 


a]) 


in^' ;  and  from 


_ ,  i-anco  of  the  thonsandH  of  wcll-drcsKcd,  rcHix-ct- 
al)lo-lookin^' ])(>oplo,  Mho  i)asHod  belong  me,  I  n.uld  ai)pro- 
omio  not  only  tlio  material  pro-resH  of  tlio  Irish  in  St.  John, 
hut  the  niarvellouH  dov(>lopnient  of  Iho  Catholic  Churdi  in 
that  city. 

On  a  plot  of  land,  four  acres  in  extent,  and  ri.-ht  in  the 
heart  of  the  town,  are  cluRterod  the  Catlunh-al,  the  I'alaco 
of  tlu>  Bishop— of  cut  stone,  and  one  of  the  finest  Htructuroa 
of  iho  lund  in  the  British  Provinces,  indeed  in  America— 
the  Convent  of  Charity,  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  H(>art 
an  Asylum  for  Orphans,  and  a  ClaRsi(;al  and  Conunercial 
Academy  und(>r  the  patronajve  of  the  Bishop.  There  are 
other  churches,  convenls,  and  schools  in  the  city,  includiinv 
the  admirable  schools  of  tlio  Christian  Brothers.  "" 

When  the  present  estimable  prelate  first  came  on  the 
mission  in  1844,  he  had  to  travel  distances  of  from  sixty 
to  ei-hty  miles  to  attend  '  sick  calls,'  and  was  frequently 
absent  for  more  than  six  weeks  at  a  time,  traAcllino-  from 
mission  to  mission,  sayin-  IMass  in  lo- huls,  and  adminis- 
terin<v  the  sacrament  to  flocks  scattered  throughout  a  wide 
and  thinly-i)opulated  district.  There  are  now  several  resi- 
d(mt  dei-ymen  in  that  district— outside  St.  John  ;  and 
mstcad  of  the  rude  loo-  hut  of  the  past,  there  are  now 
sixteen  good  churches,  with  large  congregations.  And  all 
this  change  in  the  comparatively  short  space  of  two-and- 
twonty  years. 

There  are  two  dioceses  in  the  same  province  in  which, 
fifty  years  since,  there  were  but  four  missionaries.     That 


I 


I 


00 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


of  Chatham  is  i)resicled  over  by  Dr.  Kogers,  that  of  St. 
John  by  Dr.  Sweeny  In  the  two  dio'?eses  there  were  in 
18GG  ninety  chnrches  and  forty-five  priests  ;  and  as  rapidly 
as  priests  can  be  ordained,  or  obtained  from  the  colleges 
in  Ireland,  there  are  missions  awaiting  their  labours. 
"When  Dr.  Sweeny  was  consecrated,  in  18G0,  he  had  but 
nineteen  priests  in  his  diocese,  whereas  in  1866  the 
nun.ber  had  increased  to  thirty,  and  two  young  candidates 
for  the  ministry  were  to  be  ordained  before  the  sj)ring  of 
1867. 

'  Bisnop,  when  we  were  boys,  and  when  the  old  church 
of  St.  Malachy  took  so  long  in  building,  and  when  it  was 
so  many  years  before  it  could  be  closed  in,  little  did  the 
Catholics  of  that  day  think  of  building  cathedrals  and 
palaces  for  their  bishops,  and  schools  and  convents.'  This 
was  the  remark  made  in  1866  by  an  EpiscopaHan  clergy- 
man to  Dr.  Sweeny,  as  they  stood  near  the  group  of 
buildings  that  present  the  most  eloquent  evidences  of  the 
numerical  strength,  material  progress,  and  devoted  zeal  of 
the  Irish  Catholics  of  St.  John.  Little  did  those  who  lis- 
tened to  the  Sunday  readings  of  Andy  Sullivan,  the  tailor 
from  Bandon,  or  of  '  one  Flanagan,  the  college-bred  man,' 
dream  of  the  possibility  of  a  revolution  so  miraculous. 
And  yet  ii;  has  come  to  pass. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Irish  in  Quebec-Theii-  Progress  and  Success-Educatloa 
entirely  Free-Montroal— Number  and  position  of  the  Irij.h— 
Iheir  Difficulties  and  Progress— Beneficial  Influence  of  good 
rriests— St  Patrick's  Hall.  ^ 

ENTERING  Canada  at  Quebec,  tlie  presence  of  a  strong 
and  even  influential  Irish  element  is  at  once  observable! 
In  the  staple  industry  of  this  fine  old  city—the  lumber  trade 
—the  Irish  take  a  prominent  part.      About  700,000   tons 
of  shipping  are  annually  loaded  at  Quebec;  and  in  this 
vast  business  the  Irish  perform  the  principal  part.     This 
trade  is  divided  mto  several  branches,  some  reciuiring  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  skill   and  judgment;   others  calling  for 
physical  strength,   endurance,    or  dexterity;    more  neces- 
sitating   the    possession   of   capital.      Thus,   for  instance, 
there  is  a  valuable  class  of  men  employed  in  sortino-  and 
measuring  timber,  who  are  called  '  cullers,'  whose  business 
requires  special   skill  and  aptitude;   and  these   men   are 
principally   Irish.      Cullers   can   make    as    much    as   300Z. 
a-year;  the  very  same  class  who  in  Ireland  would  think 
themselves  fortunate  if  they  could  earn  one-sixth  of  that 
income.      Then   there    are   'cove-owners,'   who    purchase, 
store,  and  prepare  timber  for  exportation— who,  in  fact[ 
sell  to  the  shippers.     The  cove-owners  are  principally  Irish. 
The  cove-owner  does  a  large  business,  and  enjoys  a  good 
credit,    and    he   generally   hves   well,    keeps    his    country 
house,  and  even  drives  his  own  carriage.     Nor  are  there 
wanting  Irishmen    in  the  ranks  of  the  shippers,  men  of 
large  means  and  good  standing  in  the  connuercial  world. 
Then   for    that   extensive   department  in   which   strength 
dexterity,  and  endurance  are  all  essential,  the  L-ish  com- 


92 


THE  JRISII  IN  AMERICA. 


mand  the  boat  position,  {uul,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
they  receive  the  hijj^hest  rate  of  payment.  On  an  average, 
the  working  men  employed  in  the  various  branches  of  the 
himber  business  of  the  port  earn  from  Os.  and  8.v.,  even  to 
10.S'.  a  day;  but  it  must  be  remembered  tliat  there  is  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  year  during  whicili  employment 
becomes  scarce,  and  even  ceases  altogether ;  therefore  the 
man  whoso  sole  capital  is  his  labour  must  determine  to 
save  for  the  hard  weather,  which  is  sure  to  come,  or  ho 
must  be  ready  to  go  into  the  woods  as  a  lumberman,  or 
seek  employment  wherever  it  can  be  procured. 

It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  not  only  are  the  Irish  in 
/^  Quebec,  and  indeed  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  among  the 
most  industrious  and  energetic  portion  of  the  population, 
but  tliat  they  are  thrifty  and  saving,  and  have  acquired 
considerable  property.  Thus  along  the  harbour,  from  the 
Champlain  :Market  westward  to  the  limits  of  the  city,  an 
extent  of  two  miles,  the  property,  including  wharves, 
warehouses,  and  dwelling-houses,  belong  principally  to 
the  Irish,  who  form  the  bulk  of  the  population  in  that 
quarter.  And  by  Irish  J  here  mean  Catholic  Irish.  There 
are  many  Irishmen  of  other  persuasions,  eminent  in  trade 
and  commerce,  men  of  the  highest  standing  and  repute; 
but  not  only  are  there  many  Catholic  Irishmen,  who  came 
out  to  Canada  witli.  little  more  than  their  skill  as  me- 
chanics, or  their  capability  as  labourers,  now  in  positive 
affluence,  but  the  larger  proportion  of  those  who  live  hy 
their  daily  toil  have  acquired  and  possess  property  of  more 
or  less  value.  This  property  usually  consists  of  the  plot 
of  land  on  which  they  have  erected  a  house  for  their  own 
occupation,  and  another  to  let  to  tenants.  As  the  fortunes 
of  the  family  increased,  fo  did  the  house,  until  at  length  a 
decent  dwelling,  of  at  least  two  storeys,  Avas  secured  ;  then 
the  house  for  the  tenant  was  constructed.  It  is  ascertained 
that  the  Cathohc  Irish — the  Irish  of  the  workin<>-  classes- 


have  80,000/.,  or  $^00,000,  lodged  in  the  Si 


ivings'  Bank  of 


THE  IRISH  IN  QDEnEC.  gj 

Q.iobec  ;  «u.I  that  in  all  Idnds  of  b™k  nnd  other  st.ick 
they  own  somothiug  hko  250,000<.  or  $1,225,000.     TUm  in 

lubh      Ana  this  IS  but  one  of  three  local  banks  in  that  city 
BcsKles  possessnig  „.,tcn,sivo  hon«e  property,  and  havin.; 
acemnnlate,!  money,  they  are  generally  cngagcl  in  bnsines; 
of  winch  they  enjoy  a  fair  .share.     Whatever  the  Irish  po,.' 
ses,s,  they  have  made  by  their  own  nnai.le.l  in.lnstry  -for 
as  a  respectable  Irishman,  who  had  himself  worked  his  wa^ 
to  mdepondence,  said  to  me:    'Yon  conld  scarcely  trace 
one  that  brought  a  sovereign  with  him.'    He  ad.lod  that 
he  had  brought  out  four  him.self,  but  that  he  nu'.dit  a.s 
well  not  have  done  so,  for  he  lent  them  to  a  porso^  who 
never  took  the  trouble  of  paying  them  back.     'And  per- 
haps, after  all,  it  was  so  much  the  better  for  me  that  I  lost 
the  money,  for  I  had  to  work  the  harder.'    Among  those 
who  came  <mt  'poor,'  as  working  mechanics,  is  an  Irishman 
who  IS  now  m  the  enjoyment  of  an   income   of  10  000/ 
a-year,  made  by  successful  contracts,  natural  a),ility,'  and 
good  conduct.     This  case  may  bo  regarded  as  a  .somewhat 
remarkable  one  m  Canada,  if  the  magnitude  of  the  result 
be  regarded  ;  but  there  are  many  instances  in  which  sums 
o    20,000/.,  30.000/.,  and   50,000/.  -have   been  realted T; 
the  mdus  ry  and  perseverance  of  Irishmen  who  came  to 
the  Bnt,sh  Pronnces  'without  a  shilling.'     The  secret  of 
the  success  or  failure  of  Irishmen  may  be  summed  up  in  a 
se,Uence   spoken  by  a  countryman  of  theirs  i„  Quebec  ; 
wouls  .which  I  havo  heard  expressed  Imndreds  of  times  in 
aU  parts  of  America,  and  which  could  not  be  too   often 
repeated  :  'Where  the  Irish  are  steady  anil  .sober,  they  a^ 
sure  to  get  on  ;  where  they  are  drunken,  reckles,s,  or  im- 
provident, why  of  course  they  fail.' 
In  Quebec,  as  in  too  many  places  in  America,  there  are 
instances  of  drunken,  reckless,  and  improvident  Irishmen  ; 
but  happ..v,  these  cases  are  exceptional,  for.  as  a  rule,  the 
lush  ot   that  city  are  sober,  prudent,  a:>d  thrifty.     And 


« 

I 

i 
* 


^1 


94 


THE  IRISH  IN  AME! 


ono  fact,  ilio  exact  parallel  to  wliicli  mry  bo  tolil  of  tbo 
(/  IriHh  in  Montreal,  i.s  in  the  hi^hcHt  {Icf^^rce  (creditable  to 
the  moral  tone  t\'liic;b  they  maintain,— that  there  is  not  in 
the  IriHh  portion  of  the  town  a  sin«.lo  honse  of  bad  n-pnte, 
alihono-h  as  many  as  10,000  sailors  are  frecpiently  at  ono 
time  in  the  port,  and  aichon-rli  the  Irish  keep  "lod-ing- 
lionses,  and  places  of  entertainment,  which  are  frequented 
by  a  class  whoso  influenco  is  not  always  the  mcxst  favour- 
able to  i)ublic  or  private  morals. 

The  Irish  Catholics  in  Quebec,  who  number  about 
12,000,  possess  Church  property  of  their  own  creation,  to 
the  amount  of  40,000/.  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
respond  to  appeals  mado  to  their  charitable  feelings,  was 
strongly  impressed  on  my  mind  from  liearing  the  Pastor  of 
St.  Patrick's  announce  from  the  pulpit  that  the  bazaar  just 
held  in  aid  of  an  hospital  for  old  and  iutirm  people  liad 
reahsed  the  net  sum  of  800/.  To  this  handsome  amount 
the  wealthier  classes  had  contributed  a  fair  proportion  ; 
but  th(^  larger  amount  came  from  the  pockets  of  tlio 
working  people.  Indeed,  to  employ  the  language  of  a 
gentleman  long  connected  with  Quebec,  'they  form  an 
exhaustless  resource  in  every  charitable  or  religious  under- 
taking.' 

I  was  afforded  a  favourable  opportunity  of  seeing  at  ono 
time  a  large  body  of  the  working  class  of  Irish,  that  is 
Ii'ish-born,  or  born  of  Irish  jmrents.  The  occasion  was 
a  funeral  of  a  young  man  who  had  fallen  victim  to  a 
daring  feat,  which  resulted  in  his  death.  The  nature  of  the 
death  created  ajively  sympathy  amt)ng  his  class,  who  might 
be  described  as  'ship-labourers,'  engaged  in  various  de- 
partments of  the  great  lumber  industry  of  the  port.  Tiie 
procession  occupied  a  considerable  time  in  passing  the 
place  at  which  I  stood,  and  the  papers  of  the  following 
morning  estimated  the  number  who  'walked'  at  l,20a 
There  was  not  of  that  large  body  of  working  inen  a  single 
one  badly  or  shabbily  dressed  ;    all  were  well  a)  d  com- 


GOOD  LAWS  AND  FREE  EDUCATION.  95 

fortably  clnd,  wliile  many  wro  uttirod  with  a  neatness  and 

home.     Ihoy  soeinod  to  mo  to  bear  themselves  witJi  an  air 
of  liian  y  mdepondence,  as  free  citizens  of  a  free  country 
m  wluch  the  htws  make  no  distinction  between  man  and 
man.     And   taking  into   consideration   the    dangers    and 
hardships  to  which  most  of  those  engaged  in  the  principal 
work  of  the  nver  and  harbour  are  necessarily  exposed,  and 
the  temptations  to  which  the  very  nature  of  their  employ- 
ment gives  rise,  these  men  are,  as  a  body,  temperate  and 
well-conducted  ;  the  country  being  the  exception. 
^    The  Irish  Cathohc  who  must  depend  upon  himself  for 
getting  along '  has  more  diflficulties  to  contend  with  than 
the   Irish   Protestant,    or   the   Englishman  or  Scotchman. 
Ihe  majority  of  the  population  are  French  ;  and  not  only 
docs   the   Irishman    speak   a  diilerent    language    to   that 
ot  the  majority  of  the  population,  but  he  absorbs  a  largo 
and  valuable  portion  of  the  employment,  and  pushes  his 
way  into   active   rivalry   with   the   more   wealthy  class  in 
various   branches   of  business.      Then    ho    has   a   certain 
aiiountof   national    jealousy   or   sectarian   feeling   to   en- 
counter amongst  the  Enghsh-speaking  section  of  the  com- 
munity.    So  that  when  he  does  rise  above  the  mas*s,  and 
acquire  wealth  and  position,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  his 
Btrugglo  has  been  hard,  and  that  his  success  has  been 
weU-earned.     But  whenever  an  Irish  Cathohc  in  Quebec 
or  Montreal  told  me  of  his  hard  up-hill  fight,  he  was  sure 
to  add-  The  laws  are  good  and  just,  and  we  enjoy  every- 
thing wo  have  a  right  to  hope  for.     We  have  nothing,  to 
complam  of  hero  ;  and  aU  wo  wish  is  that  you  were  as  ;ell  ' 
oft  at  home.      To  which  sentiment,  I  need  hitrdly  say  I 
invariably  responded  with  a  cordial  '  Amen  ' 

Education   in    Lower   Canada    is    entirely    fi-ee.     Each 
denomination    o.  joys    the    most    complete    hberty,   there 
bemg  no  compulsion  or  restriction  of  any  kind  whatever 
And   the  magnificent  Laval  University,  so  caUed   after  a 


1^ 


96 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Frencli  bishop,  enjoys  and  exorcises  every  right  and  privi- 
lege possessed  by  the  great  uuiversitioa  of  England.  Tliis 
University,  which  is  eminently  Cathohc,  obtained  a  charter 
conferring  upon  it  all  the  powers  that  were  requisite  for  its 
fullest  educational  development. 

The  rights  of  the  Protestant  minority  are  protected  in  the 
amplest  manner,  as  well  by  law  as  by  the  natural  tendency 
and  feeling  of  the  majority ;  for  there  are  no  people  more 
liberal  and  tolerant,  or  more  averse  to  any  kind  of  agres- 
sion on  the  faith  or  opinions  of  others,  than  the  French 
Canadians  ;  and  the  Irish  Cathohcs  too  well  remember  the 
bitterness  caused  by  religious  strife  in  the  old  country,  to 
desire  its  introduction,  in  any  shape  or  form,  or  under  any 
guise  or  pretence,  into   their  adopted  home.     There   are 
abundant   means  of  education  within  every  man's  reach  ; 
and  it  is  his  own  fault  if  his  children  do  not  receive  its  full 
advantage.     But  the  Irishman,  whatever  may  be  his  own 
deficiencies  as  to  early  training,  rarely  neglects  that  of  his 
children  ;  and  in  Canada,  as  in  the  States,  the  fault  attri- 
buted to  him  is  not  that  he  neglects  to  educate  them  at  all, 
but  that  he  is  tempted  to  educate  them  rather  too  highly, 
or  too  ambitiously,  than  otherwise. 


>/ 


In  no  part  of  the  British  Provinces  of  North  America 
does  the  Catholic  Irishman  feel  himself  so  thoroughly  at 
home  as  in  the  beautiful  and  flourishing  city  of  Montreal. 
He  is  in  a  Catholic  city,  where  his  religion  is  respected, 
and  his  Church  is  surrounded  with  dignity  and  splendour. 
In  whichever  direction  he  turns,  he  beholds  some  mag- 
nificent temple — some  college,  or  convent,  or  hospital 
-everywhere  the  Cross,  whether  reared  aloft  on  the 
spire  of  a  noble  church,  or  on  the  porch  or  gable  of  an 
asylum  or  a  school.  In  fact,  the  atmosphere  he  breathes 
is  Catholic.  Therefore  he  finds  himself  at.  home  in  the 
thriving   Commercial   Capital  of  Lower  Canada.      In   no 


THEIR  NUMBER  AND  POSITION  IN  MONTREAL. 


07 


:  and  privi- 
and.  This 
:1  a  charter 
site  for  its 

cted  in  the 
I  tendency 
iople  more 
I  of  agres- 
be  French 
lember  the 
country,  to 
under  any 
There  are 
ii's  reach  ; 
dve  its  full 
3  his  own 
hat  of  his 
ault  attri- 
lem  at  all, 
30  highly, 


1  America 
oughly  at 
Montreal, 
respected, 
;plendour. 
)me  mag- 
hospital 
t   on    the 
ible  of  an 
breathes 
le  in  the 
In   no 


part  of  the  world  is  he  more  perfectly  free  and  independent 
than  in  this  prosperous  scat  of  industry  and  enterprise,  in 
which,  it  may  be  remarked,  there  is  more  apparent  hfe  and 
energy  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  British  Provinces. 
It  is  not,  then,  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Catholic  Irish 
are  equal  in  number  to  the  entire  of  the  English-speaking 
Protestant  population,  including  English,  Scotch,  and 
Irish.  It  is  estimated  that  the  Irish  Catholics  are  now 
not  less  than  30,000.  Of  these  a  large  proportion  neces- 
sarily belong  to  the  working  classes,  and  find  employment 
in  various  branches  of  local  industry.  Their  increase  has 
been  rapid  and  striking.  Fifty  years  since  there  were  not 
fifty  Irish  Catholic  families  in  Montreal.  It  is  about  that 
time  since  Father  Richards,  an  American,  took  compassion 
upon  the  handful  of  exiles  who  were  then  friendless  and 
unknown,  and  gathered  them  into  a  small  sacristy  attached 
to  one  of  the  minor  churches,  to  speak  to  them  in  a 
language  which  they  understood.  In  thirty  years  after- 
wards their  number  had  increased  to  8,000,  and  now  they 
are  not  under  30,000. 

The  Irish  of  all  denominations  represent  a  vast  propor- 
tion of  the  wealth  and  commercial  enterprise  of  Montreal ; 
and  though  the  majority  of  the  CathoUc  Irish  came  out  at 
a  later  period,  and  under  far  less  favourable  circumstances, 
their  position  on  the  whole  is  in  every  way  excellent. 
They  are  not  in  the  least  behindhand  in  industry,  energy, 
and  active  enterprise,  when  compared  with  any  other 
portion  of  the  community.  As  merchants,  traders,  and 
manufacturers,  Catholic  Irishmen,  who  commenced  without 
any  capital,  other  than  a  moderate  share  of  education, 
natural  intelligence  and  good  conduct,  are  steadily  yet 
rapidly  rising  to  wealth  and  social  position ;  and  instances 
without  number  might  be  recorded  of  men,  who  could 
scarcely  write  their  names  when  they  landed  on  the  wharf 
of  Montreal,  who,  thanks  to  their  native  energy  and  reso- 
lute good  conduct,  are  this  day  rich  and  independent. 


V 


08 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


The  Savings  Bank  is  the  strong-box  of  the  prudt  nt  man 
of  moderate  means  and  liumble  position ;  there  ho  places 
his  Httle  surplus  capital,  generally  after   having  built  for 
himself  a  house  or  '  store,'  as  a  shop  is  termed  in  America. 
The  position  and  character  of  the   Irish  working  classes 
in  Montreal  may  be  fairly  estimated  from  the  fact,  that  of 
$1,000,000  deposited  in  the   Savings  Bank   of   that  city, 
four-fifths,   or   $800,000,    belong    exclusively   to   them.     A 
large  portion  of  the  stock  of  the  Ontario  Bank  also  stands 
in    their    name.      Then   they  possess   considerable  house 
property,  two-thirds  of  which  is  insured.     Griffintown,  the 
principal  Irish  quarter,  is  almost  entirely  owned  by  the 
working  classes;   and  here,   as  in   Quebec,   not   a   single 
house  of  ill-fame  is  to  be  found  in  the  entire  district.     In 
Griffintown,   poverty    and    wretchedness,    miserably    clad 
children  and  slatternly  women  are  occasionally  to  be  seen ; 
but  they  are  comparatively  rare  ;  and  in  almost  every  case 
the  drunkenness  of  the  father,  or  the  tippUng  of  the  mother, 
is  the  sole  cause  of   the   wretchedness   and   degradation 
which,  happily  exceptional,  form  a  dark   contrast  to  the 
prevailing  sobriety,  thrift,  and  good  conduct  distinguish- 
ing the  Cathohc  Irish  of  Montreal. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  Irish  Cathohc  feels  himself 
more  at  home  in  Lower  Canada  than,  in  the  other  Pro- 
vinces, Upper  Canada  especially,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  he  tas  not  had  many  and  serious  difficulties  to  con- 
tend against.  Whatever  may  now  be  the  feelings  of  the 
French  Canadians  towards  the  Irish,  they  were  strongly 
hostile  to  them  at  one  period ;  for  in  the  rebellion  of  1837, 
the  Irish,  influenced  in  a  great  measure  by  two  eminent 
priests  of  their  own  country— Father  McMahon,  of  Quebec, 
a  man  of  surpassing  power  as  an  orator,  and  in  every 
respect  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  time ;  and 
Father  Phelan,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Kingston — generally 
sided  with  the  British  Power,  and  against  the  insurgents 
of  that  day.     This  was  one  and  a  very  natural  cause  of 


THEIR  DIFFICULTIES  AND  PROGRESS. 


99 


prejudice  against  them.     Difference  of  language  must  at 
all  times,  even  under   the  most  favourable  ""circumstances, 
create  a  barrier  against  international  fusion,  or  thorough 
sympathy  between   races  ;   added  to  which,  the   humbler 
class  of  the  new-comers  soon  began  to  occupy  situations 
and   even    monopoHse    branches   of    industry    previously 
occupied    and    monopohsed    by    the    French    Canadians. 
Then,  as  may  be  supposed,  the  Cathohc   Irish  were   not 
much  befriended  by  the  Enghsh-speaking  portion  of  the 
population  ;  so  that  here,  as  in  most  other  places,  the  Irish 
emigrant  had  to  fight  his  way  up  under  circumstances  suf- 
ficient to  daunt  any  other   people,  but  which   difficultie-d 
seem  to  have  had  the  effect  of  bracing  their  energies  and 
ensuring  their  success.     It  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
since  Francis  Hincks,  now  Governor  of  the  Bermudas,  and 
Louis  Drummond,  now  an  eminent  and  highly  respected 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Courts  of  Lower  Canada— the  one 
a  Unitarian,   the   other  a  Cathohc,  and   both  Irishmen- 
infused  life  and  spirit  into  the  Cathohc  Irish  of  Montreal, 
and  gave   them   a   sense   of    pride   and   consciousness   of 
strength,  which  they  much  required.     Now  they  form   a 
large  and  important  section  of  the  population  of  the  finest 
and  most  prosperous  city  of  British  North  America,  and 
they  are  thoroughly  conscious  of  their  strength  and  legiti- 
mate influence. 

I  had  the  pleasure,  on  several  occasions  in  Montreal,  of 
meeting  the  very  elite  of  my  countrymen  of  all  denomina- 
tions ;  and  I  found  among  those  who,  when  they  com- 
menced, had  to  rely  altogether  on  their  own  exertions, 
more  of  the  American  spirit  than  in  ahnost  any  other  city 
in  the  colonies.  There  is  greater  manufacturing  enterprise 
in  Montreal  than  elsewhere  in  British  America  ;  there  are 
therefore  larger  sources  of  employment  throughout  the 
year  for  the  working  classes,  to  many  of  whom,  indeed  to 
most  of  whom,  the  winter  is  a  season  of  trial  and  priva- 
tion. 


100 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


AmonfT  tlioso  whom  I  met,,  was  an  entcrprifiing  ninnu- 
fiicturcr,  who  Ixiawtod  of  his  being  *fi  Cork  boy,'  si  i)upil  of 
the  CliriHtian  BrotherH,  and  iiii  upprontico  of  tho  Mohhivs. 
Hogarty,  tho  oniinont  tannors  of  his  native  city.     Ho  was 
doing  a  thriving  business,  his  orders  being  ov(!r  $1()0,0()0 
in  advance  of  his  means  of  supply.     He  liad  hift  tlie  States 
some  dozen  years  before,  being  anxious  to  afVord  liis  young 
family  the  advantages  of  a  sound  Catholitr  education,  which 
at  that  time  was  not  of  such  easy  attainment  in  tho  city 
where  he  then  resided  as  it  has  since  become.     Prosper- 
ous himself,  he  was  enthusiastic  in  his  dcsctription  of  every- 
thing in  Montreal,  particularly  the  posititm  occupied  I)y 
his  co-religionists.     *  Wo  Irish  Catholics,'  he  said,  '  are  in 
'a  strong  position  in  this  city.      There  is  no  city  in  tho 
'States   in  which   wo    occupy  a  more  favourable   position 

*  than  we  do  liere.     Wo  ferl  ourselves  at  home  here  ;  we 

*  are  not  foreigners,  as  we  are  sometimes  considered  else- 

*  Avhere.     The  laws  are  good,  and  we  have  all  that  we  can 

*  fairly  desire,  and  we  can  educate  our  (iliildren  in  the  best 

*  manner,  and  just  as  we  please.     In  fact,  we  could  not  be 

*  better  off.     This  is  the  place  for  an  honest  and  industrious 

*  man,  but  not  for  the  idler  or  the  drunlcard.  There  is  no 
'fear,  in  this  country,  of  a  sober  r-^"^!  who  is  willing  to 
•work  ;  but  he  must  be  sober  and  industrious.' 

My  worthy  friend  was  himself  -a  rigid  teetc^taller— to 
which  fact  he  attributed  most  of  his  prosperity. 

It  is  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  describe 
the  pubHc  institutions  and  buildings  of  any  place  ;  but  I 
cannot  refrain  from  expressing  my  admiration  of  Montreal, 
which  is  in  every  respect  worthy  of  its  high  reputation. 
It  has  an  air  at  once  elegant  and  sohd,  many  of  its  streets 
spacious  and  alive  with  traffic  and  bustle,  its  places  of 
doing  business  substantial  and  handsome  ;  its  public  build- 
ings really  imposing,  :„nd  its  churches  generally  splendid, 
and  not  a  few  of  them  positively  superb.  This  description 
of  the  churches  of  Montreal  is  not  Umited  to  the  Jesuits' 


BENEFICIAL  INFLUENCE  OF  GOOD  PRIESTS.  101 


Church,  tlio  Htntely  Parois^n,  and  tlio  ffi-and  church  of  St. 
Patrick,  of  ^vhich  tho  Irish  arc  deRCVvcclly  proud  ;  it  aj)- 
pUoH  with  equal  propriety  to  tho  Episcopahan  Cathedral, 
and   more  than   one  church  belon<,nng  to   the   Dissenting 
bodies.     Montreal  is  rich  in  all  kinds  of  charital)le,  edu- 
cational, and    rchgious  institutions  ;    and  such  is  the  in- 
fluence and  power  of  tho  Catholic  element,  that  this  beau- 
tiful city,  which  is  every  day  advancing  in  prosperity  and 
population,  is  naturally   regarded  by  the   Catholic  Irish- 
man as  a  home.     The   humble   man  sees  his  co-rehgion- 
ists  advancing  in  every  walk   of  life,  filling  positions  of 
distinction— honoured    and    respected;    and,   instead    of 
mere   toleration  for  his  faith,  he  witnesses,  in   the  mag- 
nificent procession  of  Corpus  Christi,  which  annually  pours 
its    solemn    splendour    through    tho    streets,    a   spectacle 
consoling   ahke  to  his  religious  feehng  and  his  personal 
l^ride. 

The  influence  of  really  good  priests,  who  combine  wis- 
dom with  piety— who,  in  their  zeal  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  their  flock,  do  not  overlook  their  temporal  interests  and 
material  progress— is  at  all  times  most  serviceable  to  the 
Irish  ;  and    nowhere  is  that   influence  more  required,  or 
more  potent  when  exercised,  than  in  America.      Happily 
for  the  race,  it  is  exercised  very  generally  throughout  that 
country,   and  in  no  instance  without  the  most  beneficial 
results,  in  their  improved  tone,  their  greater  industry,  and 
their  habits  of  thrift  and  saving.     The  good  priests  of  St. 
Patrick's— the  Sulpitian  Fathers  of  Montreal— employ  this 
salutary  influence  with  results  most  cheering  to  witness. 
It  hfts  the  Irish  up  ;   it  raises   their   social  condition  ;   it 
induces  them  to  acquire  and  accumulate  property — in  fact, 
by  the  very  improvements  which  they  are  induced  to  effect, ' 
to    identify  themselves  with   the   progress   of  the  commu- 
nity.    To    acquire  this  most   desirable   influence   over  an 
Ii'ish  congregation,  the  priest  need  not  be  an  Irishman  ; 
but  he  should  be  wise  and  pious,  and  his  people  should 


102 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


fool  that  ho  hrts  i^yriipalhy  with  thm.  Tiio  lack  of  this 
cHHontial  Hympuiliy  m  oftoii  fatal  to  the  boat  intentions  of 
tho  boHt  men ;  whoro  it  oxists,  it  supplies  or  conipcnsatt'S 
for  the  want  of  nniny  qualities,  if  not  actually  (essential, 
a^t  least  yary  valual)le  in  a  priest.  The  j,^oo(l  Fathers  of  St. 
Patrick's  in  Montreal—and  fortunately  they  have  their  liki) 
in  every  diroc^tion— in  every  Province  and  every  State 
—combine  all  these  requirements  ;  they  are  wise  as  well 
as  pious,  and  they  have  a  profound  sympathy  with  their 
Hock. 

St.  Patrick's  Hall— of  which  I  only  saw  tho  brc^ad  found- 
ations-is creditable  alike   to   tho   enterprise   and    ,.  ihlic 
spirit  of  the  Irish  of  Montreal.     Tho  Hall  itself  will  be  as 
spacious  as  a  catliedral— 13-4  feet  lonjv,  by  94  feet  wide 
vithin  the  walls,  and  4G    feet  high.      The  national  senti- 
ment is  gratiHed  in  the  architecture  of  the  buildinfr,  which 
IS   'purely  Irish,   copied    from  Coriuack's  Chapel  on  the 
Rock   of  Cashel'      The   design   is  really  grand  and  im- 
posing ;    and   when   fuUy  realised    in   cut  limestone,   St. 
Patrick's    HaU  will    form   one   the    most   strildng  archi- 
tectural ornaments  of  the  city.     With  a  front  of  144  feet 
on  Victoria  Square,  and  100  feet  on  Craig  Street,  it  is  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  business  portion  of  Montreal ;  and 
the  fine  shops  which  are  to  form  the  ground  flat,  and  the 
show  rooms  on  the  second  flat,  together  with  sundry  rents 
derived  from  the  gi-eat  concert-room  and  other  portions 
of  the  building,  will  render  St.  Patrick's  HaU  not  only  pleas- 
ing as  a  monument  grateful  to  nfitional  sentiment,  but 
satisfactory  as  a  speculation. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Upper  Canada-Nnmbcr  of  tfio  Irish -Tfovv  thpy  camn  an<l  s.'|,H,.,l. 
and  how  thcyjrof,  tth.ii^r ;  Ilhistnit.Ml  |,y  tlio  (liMtiict  (.f  IVJrr' 
""■'^",'^^'",  I^il  iciiltic's  an. I  Hardships  Caliimrdcs  n-liitcd  -What 
Iho  N'ttlcrs  did  in  alow  iMontiis-i^^uly  Trials  I'rcor.'ss  and 
Cotilrast-lMithcr  (.'ordon-Church-l.iiiidintr  i„  tlio  Fcuvst  -An 
«'arly  S.'l,tl.-r-.A  Sad  Aiu-idcut  A  Lonjf  Joiirnoy  to  Mass  -A 
Slory  H  rat.Ko  Imt  tr.io  -TJio  hast  (Jrain  of  Tea-l.'athor  Gordon 
on  the  Irish  and  thoir  Love  of  tho  Failh. 

rilHE  Irisli  form  fully  half  the  population  of  what  still, 
X      Coiifoderation  not  with  staiidino^,  may  bo  dosi«,niatca  aa 
Upper  Ciuiada.     Of  these  the  CatholicH  may  bo  said  to  bo 
nearly  one   half.      Fortunately  for   the   Irish   in   Canada, 
they  have   generaUy   adopted   the   kind  of  industry  best 
suited  to  their  knowledge  and  capacity,  and  do  not,  as  it 
is  too  much   the   habit  of  their  brethren   in  the   States, 
crowd  into  the  large  towns,  for  which,  by  habit  and  educa- 
tion,  ';hey  are   not  suited.     They  are  scattered  o\er  the 
land  in  great  numbers,  either  in  settlements,  in  groups, 
or  singly  ;   but  in  whatever  manner  distributed  over  the 
face  of  the  country,  they  are,  as  a  rule,  doing  well.     The 
Cathohc  Irish  are  in  many  instances  to  be  found  in  almost 
exclusively  Catholic  settlements  ;   but  they  arc  also  to  be 
met  with  in  the  midst  of  Scotch  and  Enghsh,  and  mixed 
up  with  their  Protestant  countrymen,  who  have   mostly 
come  from  the   north   of   Ireland.       There   are   Catholic 
settlements  of  every  date— from  six,  ten,  and  twenty  years, 
to    thirty   and    forty  years,   backwards  —  generally  in    a 
flourishing  condition,  and  in  every  one  of  which  are  to  be 
seen  extraordinary  examples  of  courage,  energy,  and  en- 
durance, such  as  may  well  make  an  Irishman  proud  and 
hopeful  of  his  r.'ice. 

It  would  not  serve  any  useful  object  were  I  to  ask  the 
reader  to  accompany  me  through  various  counties  or  town- 


■-• 


i 


104 


TUE  IRISH  IK  AMERICA. 


Bhips  Of  Canada  ;  mj  purpose  is  rather,  by  the  aid  of  an 
occasional  sketch,  to  show  how  and  in  'wlL  n.anner  the 
Wblor  and  poorer  Irish   enngrants  have   succeeded  in 
making  a  home  for  themselves  in  their  adopted  country. 
In  order  to  appreciate  what  they  have  done,  it  is  necessaiy 
to  aftord  some  idea  of  the  difficulties  that  lay  in  their  path 
That    .hey  have   succeeded   in   rendering  themselves    in- 
dependent, and  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a  prosperous 
future  for    heir  descendant  ;,  is  undoubtedly  true  ;  but  we 
may  profitably  glance  at  tlie  past,  to  see  how  all  this  has 
been  accomphslied.     I  prefer  rather  to  deal  with  those  who 
came  out  poor,  without  capital,  depending  for  their  daily 
bread  on  the  labour  of  their  hands,  than  with  those  who 
emigrating    under    more    favourable   circumstances,   were 
never  caUed  on  for  the  display  of  the   quahties   essential 
to  the  rude   pioneer,  whose  chief  capital  consisted  in  a 
strong    arm,   a  keen   axe,   and  a  bold  heart.      I  cannot 
better  commence  than  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the  settle- 
ment of  one  of  the  most  prosperous  districts  in  Canada- 
Jreterborough. 

In   the  year   1825,   now  forty-two  years   since,  a  con-  ' 
1  7ta  -''T  f  f  ^^i&^'^^^its,  consisting  of  415  famihes, 
01  2,000  individuals,  sailed  from  Cork  Harbour  on  t.heii' 
way  to  Canada,  where,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Govern- 
ment, they  were  to  estabHsh   a   home   for  themselves   in 
what  was  then  a  forest  wilderness,  the  abiding  place  of  the 
wolf  and  the  bear.     These  2,000  people  were  all  from  the 
south  of  Ireland,  genuine  Irish  in  birth  and  blood.     Let 
ns  follow  the  footsteps  of  those  huml^le  people,  and  learn 
how  they  battled  with  the  difficulties  of  a  new  and  tryin- 
position,  and  what  they  accomplished  for  themselves  and 
the  country  of  their  adoption. 

The  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was  wonderfully  prosper- 
ous. Heaven  seemed  to  smile  upon  the  poor  exiles  and 
give  them  courage  for  what  they  had  soon  to  meet.  In  a 
few  w^eks  after  theii'  arrival  at  Quebec,  they  were  found 


THE  SETTLERS  OF  PETERBOROUGH. 


100 


aid  of  an 
inner  the 
•ecded  in 
conn  try. 
necessary 
lieir  2)atli, 
elves    in- 
■osperous 
;  but  we 
this  has 
liose  who 
ieir  daily 
lose  who, 
OS,    were 
essential 
ted  in  a 
[  cannot 
e  settle- 
ianada — 

a  con- 
families, 
)n  tfheir 
Govern- 
3lves  in 
e  of  the 
•oni  the 
d.  Let 
d  learn 
I  trying 
res  and 

rosper- 

e%  and 

.     In  a 

found 


encampca  on  the  sl.oreB  of  Lake   Ontario,  near  Cobonrri  "7 
waiting  for  means  of  transport  to  tlicir  intoncle.l  settle- 
ment, in  wliat  is  now  the  rich  and  fertile  county  of  Peter- 
borough, then  mostly  a  verdant  wiUlernoss.     These  people 
wore  the  pioneers  of  eivihsation,  for  their  future  home  was 
fully  forty  miles  distant  from  the  frontier  settlement  of 
that  day.      There  was  not  then  even  the  semblance  of  a 
track   through   the  wooded  country  which   they  had  to 
h-averse,   and   a  kind  of  road  had  to  be  cut  tLn  Lake 
Ontario  to  Rice  Lake,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  throucdi 
the  tang  ed  forest.     Rico  Lako  had  then  to  be  crossed,  and 
the  rapid  and  turgid  Otanabee,  fo-  the  distance  of  twenty- 
five    miles    was    to  be  ascended    by  this  little  army  of 
settlers.     In  order  to  cross  the  lake  and  a.scond  the  river 
three  boats  wore  constructed,  and  propelled  on  wheels  over 
the  rough  track  from  the  one  lake  to  the  other;  but  when 
this  part  of  the  diiHculty  was  got  over,  and  the  bagga.." 
aiul  provisions  w-ere  brought  so  far  in  safety,  it  was  found 
that,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the   season,  and  the  con- 
sequent shaUowness  of  the  waters  „f  the  Otanabee,  it  was 
mipossible  to  proceed  without  additional  means  of  trans- 
port; so  a  great  boat  of  light  draught,  sixty  feet  in  lenoth 
by  eight  feet  in  width,  had  to  be  at  once  constructed 
ad  with  the  aid  of  stout  rowers,  frequently  relieving  each 
other,  this  vessel  was  steered  through  the  rapids,  and    -o 
somehow  over  the  shallows.     After  diiiiculties  and  hard 

wh  ch  difeculties  and  hardships  were  aggravated  bv  fever 

ttfdTV  tf  T  "-l-™g'y  "tt-l-S  the  robuit  and 
he  deh  ate,  the  strong  on  whom  the  weak  reli.xl,  and  the 
weak  who  wore  thus  rendered  still  more  helpkss-they 
auived  at  what  is  now  known  as  one  of  the  mo,st  beautiful 
and  prosperous  towns  in  Canada,  and  was  then  but  a 
.racklcss  wilderness.  Those  who  arrived  first  commenced 
nnmediately  to  put  up  ru.lo  huts,  or  wigwams,  ma<le  o 
gi-eat  strips  of  bark,  branches  of  trees,  and  sods;  and  a 


106 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


batch  after  batch  of  emigrants  arrived,  after  successfully 
passing  the  rapids  and  shallows  of  the  river,  the  landing- 
place  presented  an  animated  appearance,  which  gave  some 
idea  of  a  new  home  to  the  exiles,  and  cheered  their  droop- 
ing spirits.      Here  they  remained    encamped  until  they 
proceeded  to  settle   on   the  lands   in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  proportion   of  land  granted  to   each   family  of  five 
persons  was  100  acres ;  but  each  grown-up  son  was  also 
allowed- the   same   quantity  for  himself.      Soon   the  tem- 
porary huts  made   their   appearance    here   and  there  in 
groups,  as  the  attractions   of  friendship  or  acquaintance 
induced  families  to  seek  each  other's  neighbourhood,  or  as 
greater  facihties  for  shelter  or  comfort  suggested;  and  it 
was  not  long  before  this  Irish  camp  assumed  the  air  of 
a  place  of  business.     The  novelty  of  the  present,  and  the 
uncertainty  of  the  future,  must  have  deeply  impressed  the 
most  thoughtful  and  observant  of  the  settlers;   but   that 
which  gave  them  the  greatest  uneasiness  was  the  absence 
of  a  spiritual  dii-ector  and  comforter— of  the  Priest,  to 
whose  guidance  and  ministrations  they  had  all  their  hves 
been  accustomed.     They  embraced  the  first  opportunity  of 
appealing  to   the   Governor-General  of    the   Province  to 
supply  this  great  want ;  and  in  their  memorial,  which  is 
touching    in    its    simple    earnestness,   they  display  their 
traditional  love  of  education  and  devotion  to  their  faith. 
They  say:    'Please  your  Excellency,  we  labour  under  a 
'heavy  grievance,  which  we  confidently  hope  your  Excel- 
'lency  will  redress,  and  then  we  will  be  completely  hapjjy, 
'viz.,   the  want  of    clergymen    to    administer  to  us   the 
'  comforts  of  our  Holy  Religion,  and  good  schoolmasters  to 
'instruct  our  children.'    What  a  comment  is  this  on  a  comi- 
cal absurdity  which  I  heard  uttered  in  no  less  important  a 
.place  than  the  House  of  Commons— that  the  Irish  were 
rushing  to  America  in  order  to  get  rid  of  their  p}iests ! 

Calumny   and  slander  had   followed  these   poor   exiles 
across  the  ocean,  and  tracked  them  to  their  new  home  in 


CALUMNY  REFUTED. 


107 


ccessfuUy 
landing- 
ave  some 
}ir  droop- 
ntil  they 
)ourhood. 
Y  of  five 
was  also 
the   tem- 
there  in 
laintance 
>odj  or  as 
I;  and  it 
le  air  of 
and  the 
3ssed  the 
but   that 
absence 
*riest,  to 
eir  lives 
tiinity  of 
vince  to 
which  is 
ay  their 
)ir  faith, 
under  a 
r  Excel- 

us  the 
isters  to 
L  a  comi- 
ortant  a 
sh  were 
5ts ! 

r   exiles 
loine  iB 


the  wilderness.      When   first  the   people   in*  the  frontier 
settlement— for  the  most  part  immigrants  themselves,  or 
the  sons  of  immigrants  from  the  United  States,  who' re- 
fused to   abandon   their  allegiance   to   the  British  Crown 
at  the   time   of  the   American    Eevolution— heard  of  the 
arrival  of  these  2,000   'Irish  Papists'    in  the  neighbour- 
hood, they  became  alarmed  for  their  property,  and  even 
for  their  personal  safety.     This  alarm  and  prejudice  were 
caused  by  stories  cii-culated  by  those  who,  unhappily,  had 
brought  the   old  unnatural  hatred  with  them  to   a  new 
country.     However,  such  was  the  order  maintained  in  the 
c<.lony,  and  such  the  excellent  conduct  of  the  settler,  that 
it  became  quickly  apparent  that  these  stories  were  false  and 
unfounded.     A  person  then  residing  near  the  colony  bears 
testimony  to  their  industry,  energy,  and  good  conduct,  in 
a  letter  dated    January   1826,   a  few  months   after  theii- 
arrival.     The  letter  is  written  to  a  fiiend  :— 

'I  am  here  in  the  very  midst  of  them;  from  twenty  to  thirty  pass 
my  door  almost  daily.  I  visit  the  camp  frequently,  and  converse 
with  them  on  their  affairs,  and  find  them  happy  and  contented.  In  gen- 
eral, they  are  making  great  exertions  in  clearing  land ,  and  their  efforts 
have  astonished  ma?iy  of  the  old  settlers.  Not  one  complaint  has"'>een 
made  against  thom  by  any  of  the  old  settlers,  and  it  is  the  general 
opmion  that  when  so  large  a  body  of  people  are  brought  together 
r,one  could  conduct  themselves  better.  When  we  heard  of  their 
toming  amongst  us,  we  did  not  like  the  idea,  and  immediately  began 
to  think  It  necessary  to  put  bolts  and  bars  on  our  doors  and  windows 
All  these  fears  are  vanished.  These  fears,  I  must  acknowledo-e  were 
m  consequence  of  stories  that  were  put  in  circulation  before  their  arrival 
in  that  pari,  which  have  all  turned  out  to  be  equally  false.' 

Let  US  now  see  Avhat  were  the  results  of  the  energy  and 
industry  of  this  colony  of  Irish  settlers  in  the  short  space 
of  a  single  year.  Remember,  these  people  were  not  what 
it  is  the  strange  fashion  in  some  parts  of  America  to 
describe  as,  and  the  shameful  fashion  to  admit  us  being- 
'  Scotch-Irish  ;'  they  were  genuine  Irish,  in  feeling  as"  in 
blood.      These  2.000  'Irish  Papists.'  whose  path  of  exi^o 


108 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


was  tracked  by  wicked  lioH,  sailed  from  Cork  in  May  1825  • 
and   iu  November   1«2({   tlioy  weio   proved  to  have  done 
this  work  ;— they   had   cleared   and  fenced  1,825  acres  of 
land,  and  raised  off  the  land  so  cjloarcd  G7,000  bushels  of 
potatoes,    25,000    bushels   of    turnips,    10,000    bushels   of 
Indnm  ourn,  3()3  acres   of  wheat,  J),000  pounds  of  maple 
HU^^ar ;  and  they  had  purchased,  by  their  labour,  40  oxen 
80   cows,    and    W]   hocrs ;   the   total  value   of    the  sinjrle 
year's  work,  literally  hewn   out  of  the  wilderness,  by  the 
sturdy  energy  of  these  Celts,  being  estimated  at  12,524/.  I 

These  lio-m-os  represent  amazing  energy  and  marvellous 
success,  but  they  do  not  do  full  justice  to  the  people  by 
whom  this  work  was  done  :  for  while  they  were  engaged  in 
the  novel  labour  of  cutting  down  the  lofty  and  ponderous 
trees   of    the   virgin   forest,  they   were   assailed  by   those 
enemies  to  the  first  sottlers^Fover  and  Ague—that  seem 
to  resent  man's  invasion  of  the   soHtudes  of  nature,   and 
endeavour  to  drive  ba(!k  his  daring  footsteps.     Dr.  Poole, 
a  resident  physician,  writing   of    the    sufferings  of   these 
early  colonists,  says  that  the  fever  and  ague  assailed  them 
almost  from  the  first  moment  they  arrived  in  the  country ; 
and  many  strong  hearts  were  unmanned,  and  many  vigor- 
ous forms  prostrated,  during  the  earlier  seasons   of   their 
forest   life.      Scarcely    a    family    escaped,    and    sometimes 
entire  families  were   afllicted  with   the   ague   for  months 
together ;  and  such  was  the  violence  of   the  disease,  and 
their  utter  helplessness,  that,  at  times,  they  were  hardly 
able  to  hand  each  other  a  drink  of  water!     It  is  a  wonder- 
ful instance  of   energy  and    perseverance ;  and  it  may  be 
well  doubted  if  a  greater  amount  of  work  has  ever  been 
accomplished  during  the  first  year  by  an  equal  number  of 
persons,  under  eq.uaUy  unfavourable  circumstances,  in  any 
part  of  America.     It  nnist  bo  also  borne  in  mind,  that  not 
one  of   these  settlers  had  ever  felled  a  tree  until   he  set 
his  foot  in  Canada. 

The  imnugrants  or  settlers  of  forty  years  since  suffered 


EARL/  DIFFICULTIES. 


109 


from   inconveniences  that  are   comparatively  rare  in   tlia 
present  day,  and  amonfr  the   chief  and  most   serious  of 
tliese  was  the  want  of  miUs  to  grind  the  produce  of  their 
fields.     The  difficulty  was  not  to  raise   the  grain,  but  to 
convert  it  into  flour,  and  thus  i  -nder  it  fit  for  the  food  of 
man.     It  is  recorded  that,   at  an  interview  of  a  Scotch 
settler  with   the   Governor,  he  told  his  Excellency— '  We 
'have  no  mill,  sir,  and  save  your  presence,  sir,  I  have  to 
'got  up  at  night  to  chew  corn  for  the  children.'    Possibly 
the  settlers  from   Cork   wore  not  subjected  to  a  toil  so 
fearful  as  that  endured  by  the  devoted  Scotchman  ;  but  the 
only  grist-miU  within  reach  being  at  a  distance  of  between 
fifteen  and  twenty  miles,  it  was  necessary  for  the  person 
who  desired  to  get  his  corn  ground  to  convey  it  to  that 
distance  on  his  back,  and  to  return  with  it  the  same  dis- 
tance when  it  was   converted   into  flour  ;  and   frequently 
would  some  sturdy  Irishman  shoulder  his  bag  of  grain, 
and  bear  it  on  his  back  those  long  and  weary  miles,  hia 
only  food  some  potatoes  which  his  wife  had  prepared  for  his 
toilsome  journey.     In  the  winter  a  hand-sleigh,  that  could 
be  pushed  over  the  snow,  would  aftbrd  facihties  for  takin" 
corn  to  the  miU,  or  for  the   transport  of  provisions  ;  but 
there  were  states  of  the  weather  when  the  snow,  which  at 
other  times  afforded  an  easy  track,  was  a  source  of  im- 
pediment and   danger.     For  many  years  the  skin  of  the 
hog  was   made  into  covering  for  the  feet,  the  hairy  side 
being  turned  inwards ;  and  as  a  substitute  for  tea,  which 
was  then  a   costly  luxury,  attainable  only  by  the  rich    or 
those  withm  reach  of  towns,  wild  peppermint  and  other 
herbs  were  made  to  take  its  place. 

What  but  the  manly  vigour  for  which  the  Irish  race 
are  now  proverbial  in  the  countries  to  which  they  have 
migrated,  could  have  so  speedily  overcome  the  difficulties 
of  a  first  settlement  in  the  wilderness  ?  Not  a  few  of 
those  who  sailed  from  Coik  in  1825  have  passed  awav 
alter  a  iilo   of  hard  and  ceaseless  toil,  and  others  now 


no 


THE  misir  in  America. 


Rtancl,  as  it  wore,  on   the   brink  of    tlio  «rav(i  ;  but  tlioir 
Honn  and  tlicur  p^randsonH.  thoir  (lau-hlors  and  tlicrr  grand- 
dau-lit(,rH,  llonrisli  in  tlio  niidsi  of  ])rosi)ority  and  comfort 
of  wliidi  thoHo  wlio  wont  before  tlieni  were  the  creatorn.' 
The  Hhaiity  and  the  wi-wani  and  the   log  hut  have  lonc^ 
Kinco  given  i)la(30  to  tlio  mansion  of  brick  and  stone  ;  and 
tlio  liand-Hleigh  and   tlio  rude  cart  to  tho  strong  waggon 
and  tho  well-ai)])()intod  carriage.      Where  there  was^'but 
one  miserable  grist-inill,  there  arc  now  mills  and  factories 
of  various  kinds.     And  not  only  are  there  spacious  schools 
under  tho  control  of  those  who  erected  and  made  use  of 
them  for  their  children,  but  the  'heavy  grievance '  which 
existed  in  1825  has  long  since  been  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Q'ho  little  chapel  of  logs  and  shingle— 18  feet  by  20— in 
which  tho  settlers  of  that  day  kn(>lt  in  gratitude  to  God, 
lias  for  many  years  been  replaced  by  a  noble  stone  church^ 
through    whose   painted  windows   <he   Canadian  sunlight 
streams  gloriously,  and  in  whit.h  two  tliousand  worshii)pers 
hsten  With  the  old  Irish  reverence  to  the  words  of  their 
pastor.     The  tones  of  the  pealing  organs  swell  in  solemn 
harmony,  where  the  simple  chaunt  of  the  first  settlers  was 
raised  m  the  midst  of  tlie  wilderness  ;  and  for  miles  round 
may  the  voice  of  the  great  bell,  swinging  in  its  lofty  tower 
be  heard  in  the  calm  of  the  Lord's  Day,  summoning  the 
children  of  St.  Patrick  to   worsliip  in   the  faith   of  their 
fathers.       AVc^l  may    the   white-haired    patriarch,   as  he 
remembers  the  saiHiig  from  Cork,  (lie  passage  across  the 
mighty  ocean,  the  journey  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  cuttino- 
of  the  road  between  tho  two  lakes,  the  difficulties  of  the 
shallows,  and  the  dangers  of  tho  rapids  of  tho  Otanaboe  the 
camp  111  the  wilderness,  tho  fever  and  the  ague  that  racked 
his  bones  in  tho  early  years,  the  hard  toil  and  stern  pri- 
vations ;  well  may  he  bo  surprised  at  what  he  now  bcliolds 
-at    the   wondrous    change   wrought    by  the    skill   and 
courage   of    man,   animated    by    the  most  potent  of    aU 
mcentivcs-tho  spirit  of  jiope  and  the  certainty  of  reward 


PROGRESS. 


Ill 


but  tlioir 
m-  grand- 
1  comfort, 
creatorH. 
liavo  \ouff 
Olio  ;  and 
^  waofTon 
wa.s  but 
factories 
IS  sclioola 
1(!  use  of 
:!0 '  which 
the  past. 
J  20— in 
■  to  God, 

0  church, 
snnhght 

•shippers 
of  their 

1  solemn 
tiers  was 
3S  round 
y  tower, 
iiing-  tliG 
of  their 
I,  as  he 
ross  the 

1  cutting 
3  of  the 
bee,  the 
b  racked 
ern  jori- 
boliolds 
dll  and 
of  aU 
reward. 


Twcnty-fivG  miles  west  of  Peterborough,  another  town 
has   sprung  up   within  a  few  years—sprung   out   of    the 
forest,  as  if  by  enchantment;  and  of  tliis  town  a  majority 
of  its  inhabitants  are  the  descendants  of   those  who  left 
Cork  in  1825,  and  of  their  friends  or  relatives  who  followed 
them  in   a  few  years   after.     There   is  not  in  Canada  a 
prettier   town   than    Lindsay,   in    which   may  be    seen   a 
curious  structure,  rather  out  of  place  in  the  midst  of  brick 
and  stone.     Carefully  fenced  round,  and  kept  in  a  state  of 
preservation,  is  an  old  log  shanty,  which  is  regarded  by 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  with  atlectionate 
veneration.     This  was   the    temple    in    which    they  wor- 
sldpped  God  when  the  soil  on  which  the  prosperous  town 
oi  Lindsjty  now  stands  was  covered  with  juniper  and  pine. 
Near  this  '  old  church '  is  seen  its   successor— a   splendid 
brick  editico  of   Gothic  architecture,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$20,000.      And  not   a  gun-shot's   distance   from    the    old 
churcli  is  a  fine   block   of    shops,   equal  in   style   to   any 
buildings    in    Montreal,    which    cost    their    owner    some 
hundred  thousand  dollars.     Twenty-five  years  ago  he  was 
a  poor  lad,  not  worth  sixpence  in  the  world ;  but  he  pos- 
sessed what  rarely  fails  in  the  long  run— industry,  honesty, 
iutelhgence,  and  steadiness. 

To  finish  the  history  of  these  Irish  immigrants,  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  the  discovery  of  gold  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood has  amazingly  enhanced  Ihe  value  of  real  estate  ; 
so  that  tJiose  who  desii-e,  in  the  true  American  spirit,  to 
push  on,  and  seek  a  more  extended  field  for  their  opera- 
tions, may  part  with  their  property  at  prices  which  would 
enable  them  to  purchase  whole  tracts  of  land  in  other 
places. 

Proceeding  farther  West,  we  may  behold  the  first  hard 
struggle  of  people  and  pastor,  to  xeclaim  the  soil  from 
ihe  sterility  of  natu  -e,  and  maintain  the  faith  in  the  midst 
of  the  wilderness. 


(y 


112 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


r 


vL 


There  is  s  ill  living  in  Hamilton,  Western   Cannula,  as 
Vicar-General    of    the  diocese,    an    Irish    priest-Father 
Gordon,   from   Wexford-who   has   witnessed   astonishin.. 
chanf.es  m  his  time.     He  has  seen  the  city  founded,  and 
the  town  spring  up ;  the  forest  cleared  and  the  settlement 
created;   the  rude  log  chapel,  in  which  a  handful  of  the 
faithful  knelt  m  the  midst  of  the  wood,  replaced  by  the 
spacious  brick  church  in  which  many  hundi-eds  now  wor- 
sliip     And  not  only  has  he  witnessed  astonishing  changes 
but  he  has  himself  done  much  to  effect  the  changes  which 
he  has  lived  to  see  accomphshed.     It  is  now  about  thirty- 
seven  years  smce  he  came  to  Toronto,  then  a  smaU  place, 
and  known  by  the  name  of  LiUle  York.     Bishop  McDon' 
nell,  a  Scotchman,   was   the  first  Cathohc  bishop  of   the 
diocese,  at  that  time  of  immense  extent.     Father  O'Grady 
a  Cork  man,  was  stationed  at  Little  York,  and  though  even 
at  that  time  the  position  of  the  Irish  Cathohc  was  miser- 
able in  the  extreme,  Father  O'Grady  was  a  favourite  with 
.the  authorities;  and  indeed  such  were  his  social  quahties 
and  charm  o    manner,  that  no  dinner  party  was  considered 
complete  without  his  genial  presence.     Father  Gordon  had 
charge  of  the  back  townships,  twenty-four  in  number.     AVe 
must  appreciate  the   extent    of   his  spiritual  jurisdiction 
when  we  learn  that  a  township  comprised  an  area  of  twelve 
miles  square ;   and  Father  Gordon  had  to  attend  twe^ 
four  of  these ! 

Irish  Cathohcs  there  were,  scattered  through  this  vast 
terntory-very  nearly  all  of  which  was  in  its  natural  state 
as  It  came  from  the  hand  of  God;  but  they  were  few  and 
far  between,  hidden  in  the  recesses  of  the  forest,  most  of 
hem  not  having  seen  a  priest  for  years,  perhaps  since  they 
left  their  native  home.  Many  of  these  had  worked  on  the 
Erie  canal,  and  had  come  to  Canada  and  taken  land  to 
set  le  The  fewer  m  number  brought  some  little  money 
with  them  but  generally  their  wealth  consisted  of  provi- 
sions, which  they  had  to  carry  on  their  backs  through  the 


A 


FATHER  GORDON. 


113 


Cnnactfi,  as 
st — Father 
istonisliin<r 
uulod,  and 

settlement 
Iful  of  the 
ed  by  the 

now  wor- 
g  chano^es, 
tges  which 
)ut  thirty- 
nail  place, 
1  McDon- 
)p  of   the 

O'Grady, 
3ngh  even 
as  miser- 
irite  with 

quahties 
onsidered 
rdon  had 
ber.  AVe 
risdiction 
of  twelve 
i  twe . 

this  vast 
ral  state, 
few  and 
most  of 
ace  they 
I  on  the 
land  to 
3  money 

)f  JH-OVJ- 

ugh  the 


woods,  a  distance  of  thirty,  forty,  even  fifty  mifes  So  lon^^ 
as  the  provisions  lasted,  they  cut  away  and  cleared  ;  bii't 
as  soon  as  the  stock  was  near  being  exhausted  they  re- 
turned to  the  States,  and  went  again  on  the  pubhc  works. 
And  thus  they  worked  and  laboured  until  they  raised 
sufficient  food  to  bo  independent  of  the  merchant  and 
storekeeper.  At  this  day  these  men  are  amongst  the  most 
prosperous  in  Canada. 

The  townships  of  Adjala  and  Tecumseth,  in  the  county 
Simcoe,  are  amongst  the  most  Irish  and  CathoHc  of  any  in 
Upper  Canada.     When  Father  Gordon  became  acquainted 
with  them,  there  were  in  both  but  thirty  or  forty  families, 
and  these  were  scattered  in  every  direction.     Few  were  the 
visits   which  he   could  make  in  each   district  of  his  far- 
extended  mission  ;  he  was  in  one  place  this  Sunday  and  a 
hundred  miles  in  an  opposite  direction  the  foUowing  Sun- 
day.    But  the  visit  of  the  clergyman  was  an  occasion  of 
jubilee,   in  which  aU  participated.      About   the  time   his 
arrival  was  expected,  scouts  would  be  on  the  watch  to  give 
the  first  notice  of  his  approach,  and  if  there  were  a  hiU^top 
in  the  neighbourhood,  a  signal  fire  would  spread  the  glad 
inteUigence  to  the  anxious  colony.     With  joyous  cries,  and 
clappmg  of    hands,  and  eloquent  sobs,    the  pious  people 
would  hail  the  priest,  as  "his  wearied  horse  bore  him  into 
their  midst ;  and  catching  the  contagion  from  them,  the 
tiavel-worn  missionary  would  forget  his  long  journey  and 
his  many  privations  at  the  spectacle  of  their  devotion  and 
the  cheering  accents  of  their  Irish  welcome.     Sheep  and 
poultry,  and  even  oxen,  would  be  sacrificed  by  the  pros- 
perous settler,  who  was  proud  to  have  his  home  selected  for  . 
the  '  station ; '  and  after  confessions  had  been  heard  and 
Mass  celebrated,   and  Communion  received,   then  would 
follow  the  abundant  breakfast,  of  which  all  partook,  and 
then  the  grand  dinner,  for  which  such  slaughter  had  taken 
place  ;  and  those  whom  long  distance  had  kept  for  months 
apart  would  now  rejoice  in  the  opportunity  of  talking  of 


O 


9 


'?^  '• 


114 


TIIFO  miSII  IN  AMKIIICA. 


Hio  oM  ccmlry  ,umI  f<,r,„or  imwH,  wliil,,  tho  prioHt  wan  aiv 
ixmlo.l  i„  on  (,vor.y  Hul(^  an  iUo  l,(,Hf,  and  Huro.st  auihoriiy 
an  1,„  wl.at  wan  ^nimr  on  in  iho  world  at  tlic  (,ihor  wido  of 
tli«  AtlaiilK,,  (>.s,.(.uully  in  Iroland-ihat  Hpot  to  which 
ovory  h(^art  turnod  with  nn(M>aHin^r  ]ovo. 

In  I8aa  Fatlior  (^>rd.,n  d.^ti-nniiuMl  to  cnmmonco  tlio 
wovkof  dnirdi  huildiu-in  tlm  forost,  and  l.i.s  flrnt  olVort 
WIN  HU.-coHHfully  n.ado  on  tlu)  conlinoH  of  Adjala  and  T.vuni- 
Hoth,  whoro  1,0  roHolv<Ml  on  onu^tinf,^  a  h,-  churd,.  Ahhcmii- 
l>iiMf.'  Iho  ],(>opl(,,  ho  aHkcMl  th(nn  to  aHHist  liini  in  tho  L^ood 
""d'Tlakino-.  'rlu,y  woro  doh^d.tod  with  his  proponal,  and 
wilhnnrly  pliuvd  thoinH(>lvoH  at  hlH  ooniniand. 

;  Tl.oro  is  ono  thin-  boyn,  you  must  also  proniiso  mo/ 
said  tho  pi-K^st. 

'  AVhy.  th(>n,  wliatovor  it  is,  your  revorouco,  wo'll  promise 
it,  Kuro  ononj^di.' 

'AVoll  boys,'  continm>d  Fating-  Oordon,  '  whislcoy  is  like 
tho  dov,  -it  is  tho  fathor  of  ndsc-hiof,  and  you  know  it  is 
ono  of  tho  yjoaiost  (nnnnicvs  of  our  mv.o  and  country.  It 
makos  iho  l,(^st  frionds  fall  out,  and  it  is  tho  cause  of  vie 
lonco  and  nnirdor.' 

A  chorus  of  voices-' True  for  your  rovcronce-'tis  the 
blosH(Ml  truth.' 

;  Well,  thou,' continued  tho  -ood  pastor,  'I  want  you  to 
join  mo  1)1  porforminj,^  one  of  tho  most  acceptable  'works 
which  man  can  perform  for  his  Creator  ;  that  is,  to  raise  a 
temple  to  His  Iionour  and  ^lory,  in  which  you  and  your 
children  can  worship  tlie  Great  I3(^infv  ^vho  has  watdied 
over  you,  and  protcH^tod  you  and  yours  in  the  midst  of 
this  forest.     I  ask  you  to  consecrate  this  great  work  by  an 
act  of  soil-denial  which  will  be  pleasin-  in  His  si^dit.     I 
wan     you  to  promise  mo  that  you  will  not  drink  a  drop  of 
anythmo.  this  day  but  water  from  that  beautiful   sprin.v 
fresu  and  sparklino.  f,om  tho  liand  of  God,  while  you  are 
ono-a^ed  in  ereclinn:  the  temple  to  His  honour,     tromise 
mo  thi^  and  you  will  have  a  blessing  on  your  work,  and 
you  wiU  bring  gladness  to  the  heart  of  your  priest.' 


iHt  WftH  U,p- 

auilioriiy 

mr  Hitlo  of 

to   wliicli 

non(!o  iho 
ii'Hf,  o.iYovt 
1(1  T(!<;uiu- 

Ahhciii- 

)(>HU1,  Jliul 

inibo  mOj* 

proiuiso 

oy  is  like 
(low  it  is 
ntiy.  It 
3e  of  vio- 

~'tis  the 

it  you  to 
e  works 
o  raise  a 
nd  your 
Wiitchod 
lidst  of 
•k  by  an 
i^-ht.     I 
drop  of 
spriufv, 
Vou  are 
Promise 
•rk,  and 


CriUUCII-nUFLDING  IN  THK  FOIIEST. 


The  promise  so  Holoninly  solicited 


116 


was  j^'ivcn  witli  one 
impulHo,  and  it  was  rolij^nouHly  kc^pt.      Animated  by   the 
ri«^'ht  Hi)irit,  the  bravo  fellows  addrosscMl    'i(;mH«!lveH  to  their 
labour  of  lovo  ;  and  so  earnestly  did  they  work  that  thoy 
cleared  an  ample  space,  as  if  by  macric,  and  before  the  night 
sot  in  they  liad  erected  a  h)g  church,  50  feet  by  IK),  on 
the  same  spot  on  whi(!h  now  stands  one  of  the  finest  eccle- 
siastical buil(b-nos  in  Canada.     While  the  work  was  pro- 
ceeding the  poor  priest  was  atta(;kcd  with  ague,  and  he  was 
(u)mpelK'd  to  lie  at  the  foot  of  a  great  tree  on  a  couch  C(m- 
strncted  of  (he  (ioats  of  tbc^  hardy  church-buil(h)i-s.     Wht^n 
t'le  (irisis  passed  ho  was  again  in  their  midst,  assisting  them 
.   }cy  advice  or  chec^riiig  them  by  a  kindly  word  ;  but  during 
that   day  he   was   frecpumtly  driven   boiu^ath   the   pile   of 
clothing  by  a  new  paroxysm  of  his  disorder.     In  a  similar 
manner  the   same   indcfatigabhi   priest   erected   six   other 
churches  in  the  ciourse  of  three  years  :  and  so  careful  was 
he  in  selecting  the  best  sites,  as  to  position,  convenience, 
and  conspicuousness,  that   in   ever/ case  these  primitive 
structures  have  been  replaced  by  good  churches,   solidly 
built,  with  comfortable  dwellings  for  the  priests  attached. 
These  churches,  erected  in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  are  now 
every  Sunday  surrounded  by  forty  or  fifty  'waggons,'  many 
of  them  with  a  pair  of  good  horses,  the  property  of  the 
Rubstantial  yeomanry,  nay  the  gentry  of  the  country,  who, 
JiHle  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since,  were  penniless 
emigrants,  with  no  friend  save  Providence,  and  no  capital 
other  than  their  strength,  their  industry  and  their  inteUi- 
gence.     Let  us  take  one  of  these  pioneers  of  civilisation  as 
an  instance  of  what  in  those  days  they  had  to  endure. 

It  is  now  about  thirty  years  since  an  honest  hardworking 
Irishman  determined  to  go  into  the  woods,  and  there  m.ike 
a  home  for  himself  and  his  wife  and  infant  child.  He 
had  not,  as  he  afterwards  used  to  declare,  *as  much 
as  a  half-crown  in  the  world.'  He  however  managed  to 
take,  and  pay  for  by  instahnents,  100  acres  of  laud,  then 


■i 

it 
4 
i* 
•4 


■*4 
•4 


it 


ll« 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


:i 


coverod  with  forest.     Hirinpr  hiiriHolf  to  a  farmer  at  Rome 
distanco,  ho  wm  enabled  to  purchase  a  stock  of  provisions 
and  an  axo  ;    and  thus  provided,  he  resohitelj  faced  the 
AvilderneHH,  and  tliere  erected  a  Hhanty  for  Iriniself  and  hin 
httlo  family.     Like  otlierH  similurly  eircuniHtaneed,  ho  then 
commenced  to  hoNv  down  tho  trees  that  overshadowed  his 
primitivo  dwelhn-.     Havin-  eflfected  a  certain  amount  of 
cleannnr,  ho  would   anfain   seek   for   such   employment   as 
enjibled  him  to  renew  his  stock  of  provisions  ;    and  thus 
alternately  workin^r  abroad   for   otliers   aud   at  homo  for 
himself,  this  sturdy  settler  gradually  succeeded  in  making 
a  homo  for  his  now  increasing  family.     His  first  crop  of 
wheat,  raised   from   tho   small  patch  which  ho  had  then 
cleared,  ho  was  compelled  to   carry  on   his   back  to  the 
nearest  mill,  to  bo  ground  into  flour.     Tho  distance  was 
thirty  miles-not  of  road  or  river,  but  through  tho  dense 
forest,  at  that  time  but  rarely  intersected  by  open  paths 
Returning  on  one  occasion  with  the  customary  bag  of  flour 
on  his  back,  the  night  overtook  him  while  he  wa:)  still  far 
away  from  home.     Blindly  stumbling  about  in  every  direc- 
tion, ho  fell,  and,  perhaps  owing  as  much  to  the  burden  he 
carried  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  came  to  the  ground 
broke  his  leg.     Hero  was  indeed  a  sad  position !— in  tho 
midst  of  a  lonely  forest  infested  with  wolves,  away  from  aU 
human  assistance,  and  writhing  in  exquisite  ptiin.    There  he 
lay  for  the  whole  night,  moaning  helplessly  in  agony  of  mind 
and  body,  as  ho  thought  of  his  young  wife  and  his  little 
children,  far  away  from  friendly  assistance,  and  of  the  wild 
terror  which  his  unaccountable  absence  would  be  sure  to 
occasion.     Ho  was  fortunately  discovered  next  morning  by 
a  settler,  who  was  attracted  by  his  cries  of  distress,  and  who 
assisted  in  conveying  him  to  his  almost  distracted  family. 
For   some  months  he  lay  helpless  in   his  cabin,   full   of 
anxiety  as  well  as  pain  ;  but  no  sooner  was  he  once  more 
able  to  be  on  his  legs  than  he  was  again  at  work.     Tliat 
man    never    cea:.ed    his    hard    toil  tiU    he    had    cleared 


A  LONG  JOURNKY  TO  MASS. 


117 


at  Rome 
roviKions 
aced  th« 
and  liiH 
ho  then 
nved  his 
loiint  of 
ment  as 
md  thuH 
onie  for 
making 
crop  of 
ud  tlien 
:  to  the 
nee  was 
e  dense 
a  paths, 
of  flour 
still  far 
y  direo- 
I'den  he 
g^round, 
-in  the 
rom  all 
here  he 
:>i  mind 
is  little 
ho  wild 
sure  to 
ling  by 
nd  who 
familj. 
full   of 
a  more 
That 
cleared 


his  first  lot,  of  100  acres,  and  added  time  by  time  to  hia 
property;   and  he  is   this  day  the  possessor  of  1)00  acres 
of  as  good  land  as  any  in  Canada,  as  well  as  the  own«r  of 
eaw-niills  and  grist-mills,  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbourhood   nniy  grind  their  corn.     Toronto  was  over 
twenty  miles  distant  from  his  h)g  cabin,  and  when  he  lirst 
settled  in  the  bush  it  was  only  at  rare  intervals  that  ho 
had  a  visit  from  the  priest.     It  was  his  custom  to  go  to  the 
city  as  often  as  he  could,  to  perform  his  religious  duties ; 
and  as,  for  tlie  first  years  of  his  settler's  life,  he  could  not 
aiVord  to  purchase  a  horse,  he  was  compelled  to  walk  the 
whole  of  the  way.     When  he  brought  one  of  his  children 
with  him  to  Mass,  which  it  was  his  habit  to  do,  in  order, 
as  he  said,  to  make  a  strong  religious  impression  on  their 
youthful   minds,    he   would   divide   the  journey   into   two 
stages,  and  making  the  house  of  a  friend  his  resting-place 
for  the  Saturday  night,  would  set  out  at  break  of  day  on 
^lunday  morning,  holding  his  boy  by  the  hand,  or  bearing 
him  on  his  back.     He  would  thus  arrive  some  time  before 
5Iass  commenced,  so  as  to  prepare  for  Communion,  whi(!h 
he  received  with  edifying  piety;  and  after  a  brief  rest  and 
refreshment  he  would  face  towards  his  friend's  house,  his 
resting-place  for  the  night.     Nor  was  the  good  Irish  fatlior 
disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  his  children,  all  of  whom  grew 
up  strong  in  the  faith.     Three  of  his  sons  received  a  col- 
legiate  education,  and  are  now  amongst  the  most  respected 
moml)ers  of  the  society  in  which  they  creditably  move. 

Father  Gordon  spent  half  his  time  in  the  saddle ;  and 
though  he  spared  neither  himself  nor  his  horse— but 
himself  much  less  than  his  horse-it  was  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  that  he  could  visit  the  more  distant  portions  of 
his  mission  oftener  than  twice  or  thrice  a  year.  Many  a 
time  did  the  active  missionary  lose  his  way  in  the  midst  of 
the  woods,  and  after  hours  of  weary  riding  find  himself,  in 
he  dusk  of  the  evening,  in  the  very  same  spot  from  .vliich 
he  set  out  m  the  morning!     His  safest  plan  was  to  leave 


■it'i 

:4\ 


'i 


118 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ra lely  fojea  l„m ;  tlias  when  puzzled  as  to  the  pata,  or 

zather   rack,  he  would  throw  the  bridle  on  his  1  o.se's  n;ck 

and  at  the  end  of  some  time  he  was  sure  to  be  brought  up 

before  a  cottage  door,  which  was  generally  opened  to  him 

m  welcome  for  even  those  not  of  his  faith  respected  the 

.ealous    Insh  mmister.'     There  was,  however,  one  occasion 

when  his  reception  was  of  a  very  different  nature  ;   and  as 

the  cu-cumstauces  of  the  case  are  remarkable,  it  deserves 

to  be  told.     I  may  say  that  I  heard  it  the  first  time  in 

Xmonto  from  a  warm  admirer  of  the  fine  old  priest  and 

afterwards  in  Hamilton  from  his  own  lijis 

Eeturning  to  Toronto  after  a  hard  day's  work.  Father 
Gordon  was  about  entering  his  modest  residence,  to  obtain 
some  necessary  refreshment,  when  a  countrj^ian  rode  up 

hi  of  t'''  ^^^1'™.™'^  *°  ^^  '^  W«'""™  from  the  town- 
ship  of  Tecumseth,  m  the  county  of  Simcoe,  about  forty 
miles  from  Toronto.  ■  Father,  I  in  glad  to  meet  you  •  I 
want  you  to  come  with  me  to  near  my  place,  where  ther'e's 
a  man  dying,  and  there's  not  a  moment  to  be  lost '  This 
was  agreeable  news  for  the  poor  priest,  who  certainly  had 
had  his  fair  share  of  the  saddle  for  that  day.     'Wio  is 

he  -ck  man?'  he  asked.     'Oh,  he's  one  Marshall,  from 
tte  North-a  Protestant,  and  all  his  people  the  slme- 

and  I  heard  it  from   one   of  his  sons,  and  I  thouo-ht  i 
eouldnt  do  better  than  come  for  your  reverence;  and  so 

puest.    I  wiU  take  a  cup  of  tea,  borrow  a  f,-e,sh  horse  and 

eady  to  start  at  once.'  In  half  an  hour  after  the  two 
horsemen  rode  from  the  door  on  their  journey  throu  i  tie 
forest  and  it  was  not  until  late  at  night  that,  thor;.,.  ly 
tired,  they  pulled  up  before  the  house  of  tlie  sick  man  wl  o  ' 
was  s.aid  to  be  at  the  point  of  death.  Fatlw.i  Go  ";  !  I" 
mounted,  and  knocked  at  the  door,  wliich  was  immodlatdy 


A  STORY  STRANGE  BUT  TRUE. 


119 


111  ion,  that 

0  2)ntn,  or 
>i  se's  neck, 
n'ouglit  up 
eel  to  liim 
lected  the 
le  occasion 
B ;  and  as 
t  deserves 
st  time  in 
driest,  and 

k,  Father 
to  obtain 
rode  up 
the  town- 
•out  forty 
it  you;  I 
re  there's 
si'    This 
ainly  had 
'Who  is 
all,  from 
i  same — 
r  of  his, 
lought  I 
;  and  so 
said  the 
)rse,  and 

1  will  be 
the  two 
ng'h  the 
)roughly 
an,  who 
ih>n  diH- 
ediately 


opened  by  an  elderly  .woman,   at  whose  back  stood  two 
young  men.     '  What  do  you  want  here,  at  this  hour  of  the 
night  ?'  demanded  the  woman.     'Is  there  not  a  sick  man 
ni  the  house  ? '  inquired  the  priest.     '  There  is— my  husband 
-he  IS  dying.'     '  WeU,  I  was  sent  for  to  see  him— I  am 
the  priest.'     'Priest!'  shrieked  the  woman,  as  if  the  Evil 
One  stood  revealed  before  her.     '  Yes  ;  I  am  the  priest 
come  all  the  wa^from  Toronto  to  see  him,  as  he  wished 
me  to  do,'  was  the  quiet  rejoinder.     '  Then  you  may  go  as 
you  came,  for  no  priest  wiU  cross  this  threshold,  if  I  can 
help  it,  no  matter  who  wants  to  see  him ;'  and  saying  this, 
the  mistress  of  the  house  shut  the  door  on  Father  Gordon 
and  his  guide,  who  was  overwhelmed  with  confusion  at  the 
untoward  result.      'To   think   that  I   should   bring  your 
reverence  all  this  distance,  and  only  to  have  the  door  shut 
m  your  face  !     I  can't  forgive  myseK  ;  but  I  did  it  for  the 
best.'     '  To  be  sure  you  did,  man— you  did  your  duty,  no 
more  ;  and  I  respect  you  for  it.     But,'  added  the  priest,  '  I 
must  be  turning  my  horse's  head  homewards.'     '  No,  your 
reverence,  not  a  step  you'll  go  back  this  blessed  night,  if 
my  name  is  SpiUane*  ;  you'U  stop  at  my  house— 'tis  only  a 
mile  off— and  we'll  try  and  make  you  as  comfortable  as 
we   can.     It  wiU  be   time   enough  to   think   of  returning 
to-morrow.'     'Be  it  so,  in  Gods  name,'  said  Father  Gor- 
don.    They  soon  reached  the  house,  where  a  good  supper 
and  a  clean  bed  made  some  amends  for  the  long  ride  and 
the  keen  disappointment.     The  tired  missionary  was  soon 
in  a  deep  slumber,  in  which  perhaps  he  may  have  beheld 
again  the  group  in  the  doorway,  ht  up  by  the  flickering 
candle,  and  heard  the  words,  'No  priest  will  cross  this 
threshold  if  I  can  help  it,'  when  he  was  suddenly  awakened 
by  a  great  noise  or  clatter  in  the  house.     At  that  moment 
his  host  entered  the  room.     '  What  is  the  matter,  Spillane  ? ' 
'Why,  then,  your  reverence,  it  is  a  strange  matter— the 
strangest  matter   I   ever  hoard   of;— young  Marshall  has 
brought  his  father  to  you,  as  you  wouldn't  be  aUowed  to 
*Spillane  or  Sullivan  ;  I  am  uot  certain  which. 


1 


120 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEEICA. 


come  to  him,'  replied  the  host.     *  You  jest,  man  ;  'tis  impos- 
siblcV   said  the   priest,   in  his  first    impulse   of  astonish- 
mont      'Faith,    then,   'tis  no  jest   at  all,   your   reverence, 
but  the  truth,  as  I'm  a  sinner,  and  that's  no  lie,  any  way ' 
said  Hpillane.     It  was  the  literal  truth/    When  the  dyiuo 
luan  heard  how  the  priest  had  been  denied  admission,  and 
driven  from  his  door,  he  was  intensely  afflicted  ;  but  he  in 
vam  sought  to  move  the  stern  obduracy «f  his  wife.     'Not 
one  belonging  to  me  ever  disgraced  himself  by  turning 
1  apist,  and  you  shan't  be  the   one   to   commence  '    The 
poor  woman  beheved  she  was  only  doing  her  duty,  and  in 
this  tran(iuillising  conviction  she  soon  forgot  her  troubles 
m  sleep.     But  the  dying  man  was  inconsolable,  and  he 
Dioaned  and  wept  in  u  manner  to  touch  the  heart  of  one 
oi  his  sons,  to  whom  he  addressed  the  most  earnest  en- 
treaties that  ho  might  be  allowed  to  die  as  he  wished  to 
Oie     Moved  alike   by  the   tears  and  importunities  of  his 
f-.ither,  the   son  at  length  yielded.     But  what  was  to  be 
dnne  '?     The  priest  could  not  enter  the  house~his  mother 
v;ould  not  allow  that  ;  how  then  could  his  father's  wish  be 
accomplished?     There  was  only  one  way  of  doing  it,  and 
t/iat  was   quickly  resolved  upon   and  adopted.     Carefully 
wrapping  the  dying  man  in  the  clothes  in  which  he  lay 
the  son  raised  him  gently  on  his  back,  and,  steading  softly 
with  his  precious  burden,  he  crossed  the  threshold  with 
noiseless  step,  and  bore  it  a  mile  through  the  dark  forest 
to  the  house  m   which   the  priest  found  shelter  for  the 
night,  and  there  hiid  it  down  in  safety.     Whether  it  wore 
that  Nature  rallied  her  faihng  resources,  or  that  the  spirit 
rose  superior  to  the  frailty  of  the  body,  it  may  be  difficult 
to  say  ;    but  the  father  preserved  strength  enough  to   be 
received  into  the  church,  and  prepared  for  death,  and  to  bo 
brought  })ack  to  his  own  home,  in  which  he  shortly  after 
breathed   Ins   last.     For   several  years,  or   as  long  as  his 
mother  lived,  the  son  did  not  separate  from  her  communion  • 
but  he  afterwards  became  a  Cathohc,  and  is  now  the  wealthy 


THE  LAST  GRAIN  OF  TEA. 


121 


;  'tis  impos- 
3f  astonish- 
•   rcveronce, 
e,  any  way/ 
1  the  dying 
nission,  and 
;  but  Lo  in 
wife.     'Not 
by  turning 
oncG.'    Tlie 
uty,  and  in 
er  troubles 
)le,  and  he 
eart  of  one 
earnest  en- 
wished  to 
ties  of  his 
was  to  be 
bis  mother 
L''s  wish  bo 
ing  it,  and 
Carefully 
ch  he  lay, 
ding  softly 
jhold  with 
ark  forest 
3r  for  the 
ler  it  were 
the  spirit 
e  difficult 
igh  to   be 
and.  to  bo 
3rtly  after 
ng  as  his 
iniunion  ; 
e  wealthy 


I 


head  of  a  large  Catholic  family,  all  good  and  religious,  and 
full  of  worldly  prosi)crity. 

Father  Gordon  tells  many  anecdotes  of  his  missionary 
hfe  among  his  Irish  ilock  ;  and  however  apparently  trivial 
some  of  them  may  appear,  they  afford  glimpses  of  the 
early  condition  of  the  settlers  in  the  wilderness.  Drenched 
to  the  skin  one  day  in  spring,  he  was  compeUed  to  seek 
shelter  in  a  shanty  ;  but  such  was  the  state  of  that  dwelling 
that  it  afforded  a  friendly  welcome  to  the  rain,  which 
entered  wherever  it  pleased  through  the  roof ;  and  as  the 
priest  lay  on  the  bed,  composed  of  two  logs  placed  in  a 
corner,  while  his  clothes  were  being  dried  at  the  fire,  he 
was  amused  at  witnessing  the  enjoyment  of  a  brood'  of 
young  ducks  that  were  disporting  themselves  in  a  stream 
that  ran  through  the  cabin. 

It  was  in  a  short   time   after  that  he   rode  up   to  the 
door  of    Mrs.  Macnamara,  '  aU  the  way  from  the   county 
of  Cork.'     'Well,  Mrs.  Mac,  have  you  anything  for  a  poor 
traveller?'.    "Deed,  then,  your  reverence,  there's  a  hearty 
welcome,  and  you  know  that ;  and  I  have  a  grain  of  tea 
and  the  makings  of  a  cake— and  sure  tlie're  yours  with  a 
heart  and  a  half,  and  so  they  would  if  they  were  ten  times 
as  much,'  said  Mrs.  Mac.      The  good  woman  at  once  set 
about  makmg  the  cake,  which  was  soon  in  a  forward  state 
of  preparation,  and  th.i.,  with  much  solemnity,   she  pro- 
ceeded to 'make  the  tea,' which,  in  order  to  'draw'  it  in 
the  most  scientific  manner,  she  placed  in  its  little  black 
pot  on  a  corner  of  the  fire,  away  from  the   blaze.     Mrs 
Mac's  stock  of  candles  had  long  been  exhausted,  and  she 
was  obhged  to  be  content  with  the  hght  from  the  hearth  • 
but  Father  Gordon  had  to  '  pay  his  debt  to  the  Pope,'  and' 
m  order  to  read  his  closely-printed  breviary,  he  was  con- 
stantly pokmg  fhe  fire  with  the  end  of  a  stick.     'Take  care 
of  the  teapot   blither  Gordon,  dear— take  care  of  it,  for  your 
life!'  remonstrated  the  good  woman,  as  she  observed  the 
reckless  vigour  with  which  the  priest  used  the  improvised 

6 


8 


122 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


poker.     *No  fear,  ma'am— no  fear,  ma'am,'  he  invariably  re- 
plied.    But  there  was  every  reason  to  fear,  as  the  result, 
proved  ;  for,  in  one  desperate  ellbrt  to  shed  hght  on  the 
small  print,  the  priest  brouo-ht  down  the  entire  superstruc- 
ture, and  with  it  the  cherished  teapot,  which  roUed,  empty 
and  si)outless,  on   the  lloor.      Here  was  a  disaster!     The 
poor  woman  clapped  her  hands,  as  she  cried,  'Oh,  Father 
Gordon,  jewel!  what  did  you  do?     You  broke  my  teapot, 
that  I  brouglit  from  Ireland,  every  step  of  the  way,   and 
I  so  lond  of  it!     But,  Father  dear,  'tis  worse  for  you,  for 
there  isn't  anotlier  grain  of  tea  in  the  house— and  what 
will  you  do?      Oh  dear!  oh- dear!'     Father  Gordon  had, 
as  penance  for  his  involuntary  offence,  to  wash  doTvn  the 
cake  with  the  water  of  a  neighbouring  spring. 

No  one  was  more  surprised  at  the  changes  wrought  in 
comparatively  a  few  years  after,  than  was  Father  Gordon, 
who  witnessed  the  infancy  of  the  Irish  settlements  of  the 
county  of  Simcoe. 

'  My  dear  sir,'  said  he,  '  I  could  scarcely  credit  my  eye- 
sight, it  was  all  so  wonderful— Hke  a  dream.  Fine  roads, 
and  splendid  farms,  and  grand  mansions,  and  horses  and 
carriages,  and  noble  churches  with  organs  and  peals  of 
bells,  and  schools— yes,  my  dear  sir,  and  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, the  aristocracy  of  the  country!  What  a  difference 
between  what  I  Ijeheld  on  my  last  visit,  and  what  I 
remember  when  I  saw  the  young  ducks  in  the  stream 
running  through  the  cabin  floor,  and  when  poor  Mrs.  Mac's 
last  grain  of  tea  was  lost  in  the  ashes.  Dear,  dear !  what 
a  wonderful  change !  God  has  been  very  merciful  to  our 
poor  people.  I  never,'  continued  the  good  priest,  who 
could  speak  with  authority  as  to  his  countrymen,  whom 
during  his  long  life  he  loved  and  served  with  aU  the  zeal 
and  earnestness  of  his  nature— 'I  never  knew  one  of  them 
that  did  not  succeed,  provided  he  was  sober  and  weU- 
conducted.  Drink,  sir,  drink  is  the  great  faihng  of  our 
race  ;  and  if  they  had  a  hundred  enemies,  that's  the  worst 


PATIIER  GORDON  ON  THE  IHiSII. 


123 


ariiibly  re- 
tlie  result 
;lit  on  tlio 
uperstrnc- 
Ictl,  empty 
;ter!  The 
)li,  Fatlicr 
ay  teapot, 
Aviiy,  and 
r  you,  for 
and  what 
.'don  had, 
doTvn  the 

rought  in 
'  Gordon, 
ats  of  the 

my  eye- 
ne  roads, 
>rses  and 

peals  of 
d  gentle- 
iifi'erence 

what  I 
e  stream 
'rs.  Mac's 
ar!  what 
il  to  our 
est,  who 
n,  whom 

the  zeal 

of  them 
md  weU- 
^  of  our 
he  worst 


of  aU. 


But,  thank  God,  on  the  whole,  our  people  are  good 
and  reh^douH,  and  every  day  advancing.  It  is  a  great 
change  from  what  they  were  in  the  old  country,  and  a 
greater  change  from  what  I  remember  they  were  thirty 
years  ago  in  this.* 

_    To  my  suggestion  that  he  had  had  his  own  share  of  toil 
m  tJio.se  distant  days,  he  rephed  :  '  Well,  my  dear  sir,  no 
doubt  I  had  many  a  hard  ride  through  the  forest,  and  I 
otten  had  to  depend  on  my  poor  horse,  as  my  heavy  eyeUds 
closed  while  I  sat  in  the  saddle,  overpowered  with  fatigue 
and  want  of  sleep.     But  no  matter  what  labour  I  had  to 
undergo,  I  always  received  my  reward  in  the  faith  and  love 
of  the  people-their  delight    at  seeing  their  priest,   and 
hearing  his  voice-why,   sir,    it  would    raise    any  man's 
spirits.     And  how  they  kept  the  faith  !-it  was  surprising 
For  years  some  would  not  see  a  priest  ;  but  stiU  the  faith 
was  there  in  the  mother's  heart,  and  she  would  teach  it  to 
her  children.     We  have  lost  some,  for  there  were  sheep 
without  shepherds  ;  but  that  we  did  not  lose  more,  and 
that  we  saved  so  many  in  times  long  gone  by,  is  only  to  be 
attributed    to  the   mercy  of   God,  and  the   tenacity  with 
which  the  Irish  cling  to  their  faith.     Oh,  sir,  their  devotion 
and  their  affection,  and  their  gratitude,  cheered  me  many 
a  time,  and  made  me  forget  fatigue  and  trouble  of  every 
kind.     God  bless  them !  they  arc  a  good  people.' 

These  were  almost  the  last  words  I  heard  from  the  lips 
of  that  true-hearted  Irish  priest,  for  it  was  of  his  people  ho 
oved  to  speak.     Father  Gordon  has  hved  to  see  his  church 
thoroughly  organised,  divided  into   several   dioceses,  each 
diocese  having  an  eflficient  staff  of  clergymen,  with  numer- 
ous institutions,  educational  and  charitable,  under  the  care 
ot   the  religious   orders.     Of  the  bishops,  four  are  Irish 
and  about  one  hundred  of  the  clergy  are  either  of  Irish 
birth  or  descent.     The  religious  orders  also  owe  much  of 
their  st^-ength  to  the  same   great  national  weU-spring  of 


I 

4 


I 

f 


121 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


W(.(>lf(.  T.slan(l--.r'-r,w. 
Till   us  ill)   Aj^rici  • 
I'olicy  of   till)  Caiiiv 
Tolicy. 


(^ufn-  -  A  Siicor'ssfiil   Trislunan— Siinplo 

•TIki  liiiiKl  (jiicsti.)!!  in  ('aiiuda    -\Vis(f 

x'ttrliamunt  -lla[»|)y  lieHiiIts  of  a  Wise 


rpHEKJ<]  is  Jill  isliiiul  in  the   St.  Liiwrencc,  forming  the 


1  t 


wo  (^hiiimoLs,  the  Eiighsli  jiiul  the  Americiiii,  through 


wh'u'.h  I  ho  iiiiijestic!  river  iloww  iVoni  Liik(>,  Oiiturio  to  the  sea. 
/  Woohe  iHlaiid— for  that  i.s  the  name  by  which  it  is  known — 
is  several  miles  in  length,  ami  about  lialf  as  many  broad. 
It  is  principally  occupiiHl  by  Irish  CathoHcjs,  who  settled 
upon  it  at  diflerent  periods,  not  very  remote.  For  a  time 
tlic  land  was  held  partly  by  lease,  and  for  a  term  of  twenty- 
ono  years — a  description  of  tenure  altogether  (exceptional 
in  a  country  in  wliidi  fr(>ehold  or  fee-simple,  in  other  words, 
abst)lute  ownership,  is  almost  universal. 

In  other  countries  a  lease  for  twenty-one  years  might  be 
regarded  with  favour,  and  under  certain  circumstances 
would  be  considered  a  se(  uity  for  mere  outlay  in  cultiva- 
tion. It  is  so  in  Scotland  ;  but  in  America,  where  absolute 
and  undisputed  owncership  is  tlie  rule,  a  tenure  of  this 
limited  nature  is  rather  a  discouragement  than  a  stimulus 
to  ex(u-tion.  And  it  may  be  remarked,  that  by  proprietors 
of  large  tracts  of  land,  who  desire  to  see  them  occupied  and 
cultivated,  letting  by  lease  is  not  much  approved  of  ;  tliey 
prefer  to  sell  it  in  lots,  on  such  terms  as  may  suit  both 
parties,  and  possibly  enable  the  person  who  sells  to  turn 
the  purchase-money  to  other  ]uirposes.  And  when  land 
falls  into  the  possession  of  creditor  or  mortgagee,  tlie  new 
owner  generaiiy  liuds  it  more  convenient  and  profitable  to 


WOOLFE  ISLAND. 


126 


— Siinplo 
lii  -Wise 
f  a  W'iso 


)riiiing  the 
11,  tlirou^^h 
to  tho  soa. 
H  known — 
any  broad, 
ho  scttlod 
l\)r  a  time 
of  twcnty- 
ixwiptional 
lior  wordn, 

!  might  bo 
uiu.siancos 
ui  cultiva- 
G  ttbsohito 
re  of  11)  is 
I  stimuhis 
ropriotors 
upied  and 
I  of  ;  tliey 
suit  both 
Is  to  turn 
^'hen  land 
',  the  now 
oiitablu  to 


pet  rid  of  it  by  sale  than  to  let  it  hj  lease  of  whatever 
iorm,  and  thus  assume  the  responsibility  and  incur  the  risk 
incidental  to  the  position  of  a  landlord.  The  genius  of 
llio  p('oi)lc,  tho  very  instinct  of  the  community,  is  in  favour 
of  entire  and  unrestricted  ownership,  through  which  alone 
tho  forests  have  boon  turned  into  fields  of  grain  and  pas- 
tun;,  and  America  has  been  civiHsed  and  peopled. 

The  proprietor  of  a  vast  property  on  WooKe  Island  de- 
termined to  announce  it  for  sale  ;  and  no  sooner  did  he 
do  so,  than  the  Irish  tenants  put  forth  the  most  extraordi- 
nary (energy,  in  order  to  become  the  owners  of  their  farms. 
It  seemed  as  if  new  life  had  been  infused  into  them  by 
the  hope  of  possessing  as  proprietors  the  land  they  rented 
as  tenants  ;  and  such  was  the  success  of  their  exertions, 
that  they,  or  the  great  majority  of  them,  were  enabled  to 
l^urchase  their  lots. 

As  the  island,  with  the  exc^eption  of  such  portions  of  it  as 
had  been  cleared,  was  covered  with  forest,  Hke  most  of  the 
land  of  Canada,  the  settlors  of  Woolfe  Island  had  to  un- 
dergo   the    ordinary  hardships    incidental   to   all   simila,r 
efforts ;  but  as  they  were  not  many  miles  from  a  fine  town 
and  a  good  market,  they  possessed  advantages  not  usual 
with  the  genuine  pioneer  of  civilisation,  who  buries  him- 
self in  tho  depths  of  the  woods,  and  is  himself  the  author  of 
everything  that  follows.     Still  the  advantages  of  the  thriv- 
ing town  and  the  unfaihng  market  were  not  unattended 
with   countervaihng  risk;    for   the  nearness  of  the  town 
offered   to   the   settlers   of  the   island   temptations   which 
many  lacked  tlie  necessary  fortitude  to  resist.    It  frequently 
oc(3urred  that  the  profits  of  a  good  season  were  sacrificed  " 
to  file  fascinations  of  boon-companionship,  and  the  indul- 
gence of  a  passion  especially  fatal  to  the  Irishman.     The 
evil  was  assuming  alarming  proportions,  when,  some  dozen 
years  since,  an  Irish  priest— the  Eev.  Mr.  Foley— resolved 
to  grapple  wdtli  it ;  and  so  powerfully  and  persuasively  did 
he  plead  the  cause  of  prudence  and  sobriety,  so  strenuously 


.'€ 


i 


1^6 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


(/- 


did  he  wrestle  with  the  veteran  drinkers— the  'hard  cases' 
MS  they  were  ealled-and  sueh  was  his  influence  with  tlie 
yoimg,  that  ho  succeeded  in  a  sliort  time  in  cnrollin.r  800 
male  residents,  of  all  a^^es,  from  the  vi^rorous  striplin-  to 
«je   grey-haired  grandsire,   in   the   ranks   of   temperance. 
The  result  was  magical.     Soon  there  was  not  in  all  Canada 
a  more  prosperous  or  progressive  settlement  than  that  of 
VVoolfe  Island.     The  good  priest  died  in  the  midst  of  his 
abours  and,  as  was  customary,  would  have  been  buried  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Kingston  ;  but  so  beloved  was  he  by  the 
people  to  whom  he  had  been  father  and  pastor,  that  they 
would  not  permit   his  honoured  remains  to  be  removed 
trom  the  island  ;  and  the  grave  in  which  they  rest  is  re- 
garded with  veneration  by  those  who  remember  his  holy 
.    hfe,  and  the  zeal  with  which  he  watched  over  the  temporal 
interests  as  well  as  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  Hock      The 
islanders  remain  faithful  to  the  advice  of  their  pastor  and 
as  a  consequence  certain  to  follow  from  the  avoidance  of 
a  fruitful  cause  of  danger,  they  are  happy  and  contented 
and   every  year  they  are   advancing  in   prosperity.     The 
case  of  one  of  these  settlers  will  illustrate  that  of  many 

It  IS  now  about  seventeen  years  since  a  little  Irishman 
from  Roscommon,  named  James  Cuffce,  settled  in  the  island 
Low-sized,  but  broad-shouldered,  well-knit   and  vio-orous 
as  a  'four  year  old,'  Jimmy  Cuffee,  hke  thousands  "of  his 
race   m   America,   possessed   only  that   species   of  capital 
which  may  be  easily  carried  across  ocean  and  over  moun- 
tain—which  rust  cannot  consume  nor  moth  devour    but 
which,  although  the  wonder-worker  of  civilisation,  is  often 
blindly  despised  by  those  who  wiU  alone  believe  in  bullion 
or  bank  notes  ;  it  consisted  of  his  strong  pair  of  arms  and 
Ins   brave  heart.      Literally,  he  had  not  a  penny  in   his 
pocket;  nor  indeed— at  that  time  at  least-could  he  'take 
a  shine '  out  of  his  reading  and  writing.     But  so  resolutely 
did  the  httle  Connaught  man-in  whose  composition,  it  may 
be  remarked,  there  was  not  the  faintest  suspicion  of  the 


JIMMY  CUFFE,  THE  ROSCOMMON  BOY. 


127 


anl  cases,' 
3  with  tlie 
•ollin^r  800 
tri^)!!]!*^  to 
smporance. 
all  Canada 
111  that  of 
(Ist  of  his 
bnriod  in 
ho  by  tlie 
that  tliey 
i  removed 
•est  is  re- 
•  liis  l)oly 
temporal 
)ck.     Tho 
istor,  and 
idance  of 
ontentod, 
ity.     The 
lany. 
Irishman 
ie  island, 
vigorous 
:1s  of  his 
f  capital 
!r  moun- 
onr,  but 
is  often 
1  bullion 
rms  and 
Y  in   his 
he  'take 
3solutely 
1,  it  may 
1  of  the 


Anglo-Saxon—labour  at  his  calling,  'morning  and  night, 
early  and  Lite,'  that  he   rapidly  became  a  thriving  man  ; 
and  Jimmy  Cuffe  is  now  the  proprietor  in  feo-.simplo  of 
800  acres  of  rich  land,  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  match 
in  KoHCommon ;  with  a  fine  house,  a  stable  full  of  good 
horses,  spacious  barns,  cattle  and  stock  of  every  kind— in 
a  word,  everything  that  the  heart  of  any  rational  Irishman 
could  desire.     He  drives  his  family  to  church  in  a  spring 
waggon,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  good  horses,   'as  grand  as  the 
Lord  Mayor  of  London,  or  as  any  real  gentleman  in  the 
ould  country.'     I  happened  to   bo   in  Kingston   the   day 
Jimmy  Cuffe  came  in  to  take  up  the  bill  on  which  he  had 
raised  the  purchase-money  for  his  latest  acquisition  of  200 
acres.     It  was  rather  a  large  su'u,  but  the  produce  of  his 
harvest  enabled  him  to  do  so  without  embarrassment.     And 
Jimmy's  sharp  grey  eye  glistened,  as  he  told  how  he  had 
got  along,  and  succeeded  not  only  in  'making  a  man  of 
himself,  thank  God,'  but— what  pleased  him  quite  as  much 
—in  buying  out  the  old  settlers— a  class  rather  inchned  to 
think  little  of  what  the  Jimmy  Cuffes  can  do.     It  is  much 
to  be  doubted  if  Jimmy  Cuffe  would  change  places  with  a 
lord  in  the  old  country.     The  lord,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
owes  his   position  to  his  ancestors— Jimmy  Cuffe,  under 
Providence,  owes  everything  to  his  industry,  energy,  and 
self-denial.      Possibly,  in  the  estimation  oi  some  people, 
tho  balance  of  merit  may  be  in  favour  of  the  sturdy  settler 
from  Roscommon.     ThanlduUy  be  it  said,  there  are  many 
Jimmy  Cuffes  in  America. 

Cases  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature  might  be  multiplied 
,to  any  extent,  all  iUustrative  of  the  manly  vigour  of  tho 
Irish  race,  and  of  what  great  things  they  are  capable 
when  they  have  a  fair  field  for  their  energies. 

Living  near  a  thriving  city  in  Western  Canada,  is  p,  hale 
and  vigorous  Irishman,  well  advanced  in  years,  who,  as  a 
dny  labourer,  broke  stones  on  the  public  road  not  far  from 
tho  very  spot  on  which  stands  his"sple:idid  residence,  one 


J  28 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEUICA. 


Of   he  most  elegant  in  the  conntry.     Like  a  wise  man,  he 
took  the  first  work  that  o«bred,  and  it  prospered  with  him 
He  rejoices  in  an  unmistakable  Irish  name,  smacking  of 
the    ould  ancient  kings ; '  and  there  is  not  in  all  Canada  a 
Btauncher  adherent  to  the  ancient  faith.     When  he  came 
out   o  America-more  than  thirty  years  ago-a  priest  was 
rarely  to  be  seen  near  where  he  settled,  and  it  was  only  by 
great  effort,  at  no  small  sacrifice  of  time  and  labour  that 
he  could  avan  himseH  of  the  consolations  of  religion-  but 
he  was  determined  that,  above  all  things,  he  would  trans- 
mit to  his  chHdren  the  precious   deposit  which   he   had 
himself  received  from  his  simple  but  pious  parents.     Be- 
tween the  Saturday  evening,  when  his  week's  work  was 
over,  and  the   Monday  morning,   when   another  week  of 
labour  commenced,  this  devoted  Cathohc  would  constantly 
walk  a  distance  of  between  forty  and  fifty  miles,  to  attend 
Mass  and  perform  the  duties  enjoined  by  his  church.     And 
when  his  children  grew  in  strength,  he  would  make  them 
the  companions  of  his  journey.      Not  a  few  of  this  good 
man's  descendants  have  abandoned  a  home  of  luxury  to 
devote  themselves  to  a  rehgious  life,  and  are  now  diffusing 
among  the  youth  of  their  own  race  and  faith  the  lessons  of 
piety  which    they  learned  from  the  lips  of   an  honoured 
parent.     Men  of  his  stamp  are  the  glory  of  their  country. 

A  recent  striking  instance  of  progress  made  by  the  Irish 
may  be  mentioned.  The  Bishop  of  Kingston~Dr.  Horan-. 
in  visiting  a  settlement,  of  which  the  first  tree  had  been 
cut  only  five  years  before,  was  received  by  one  hundred  of 
the  settlers,  each  driving  his  own  waggon  and  pair  of  horses 
Preceded  by  a  green  banner,  and  a  band  of  music  obtained 
from  a  neighbouring  town,  these  sturdy  Celts  conducted 
their  good  bishop  in  triumph  into  the  heart  of  their  pros- 
perous settlement.     That  was  a  day  of  well-earned  jubilee. 

In  fully  twenty  of  the  counties  of  Uppei-  or  Western 
Canada  there  are  thriving  settlements  either  exclusively  or 
prmcipally  occupied  by  JrM^  CathoKcs ;  while  the  CathuHo 


SiMPr.E  PAT  AS  AN  AGRICULTURIST. 


129 


ise  man,  ho 
I  with  him. 
tiac'kiiig  of 
1  Canada  a 
m  he  came 

priest  was 
t^as  only  by 
iiboiir,  that 
igion;  but 
)ul(l  trans- 
!h  he  had 
ents.     Be- 

work  was 
r  week  of 
constantly 

to  attend 
rch.  And 
lake  them 

this  good 

luxury  to 
V  dilTusing 
lessons  of 
honoured 
ountry. 
'  the  Irish 
.  Horan — 
had  been 
mdred  of 
of  horses. 

obtained 
conducted 
Leir  i^ros- 
jubilee. 

Western 
isively  or 

Cathuiio 


Irish  are  to  be  found  in  every  direction,  often  in  the  midst 
of  Protestant  settlements,  whether  Irish,  Scotch,  or 
English. 

Something  may  hero  be  said  of  the  Irish  agriculturist, 
as  compared  with  liis  brethren  from  the  sister  kingd<jms. 
As  may  be  supposed,  by  those  who  know  anything  of  the 
state  of  things  in  different  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
the   Scotch   and  Enghsh   farmers  who  settle   in  America 
bring  with  them— have  brought  with  them — besides  more  or 
less  capital  in  money,  a  knowledge  and  skill  not  possessed 
by  those  who  emigrated  from  Ireland.     It  must  be  admit- 
ted that  in  Great  Britain   the  science  of  agriculture  has 
advanced  to  a  degree  of  perfection  to  which,  even  under  the 
most  favourable  circumstances,  Ireland  cannot  aspire  for 
many  years  yet  to  come.     Thus  it  necessarily  follows  that 
while  the  Irishman  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  Enghshman 
or  Scotchman  in  industry  or  energy,  capacity  for  labour  or 
power  of  endurance,  he  is  so  in  theoretical  knowledge,  and 
the  management  of  land  on  the  principles  of  '  high  farming.' 
Considering  the  relative  condition  of  the  three  countries, 
this  is  what  may  be  looked  for.     But  the  Irishman,  even 
though  he  may  not  be  able  to  write  his  name,  is  wonder- 
fully shrewd  and  observant ;  and  before  his  self-complaceni, 
neighbour  imagines   that   simple   Pat  has   even  perceived 
what  he  was  about,  simple  Pat  has  borrowed  his  improve- 
ment, and  actually  made  his  own  of  it.     It  is  amusing  to 
hear  a  poor  fellow,  who  had  Httle  inducement  for  enter- 
prise in  his   own  country,   dealing    in   the    most   daring 
manner  with  scientific  terms,  picked  up  fi-om  his  Lothian 
or  Yorkshire  neighbour,  and  calling  things  by  names  that 
would  puzzle  a  Liebig.     But  still  there  is  no  mistake  in 
his  appHcation  of  the  principle;   for  though  he  makes   a 
fearful  hash  of  the  name,  simple  Pat  has  caught  fast  hold 
of  the  thing,  as  witness  the  appearance  of  his  land  and  ihe 
abundance   of    his   crops.      It   occasionally    happens   that 
townships  belonging  to  the  three  nationalities  adjoin ;  and 


■I" 

i 

1 

I 

i 
j 


180 


TlIK  lUISU  IN  AMi;iillA. 


wlionn-cr  iliiH  is  IIk^  nm\  tlu,  n>Hiill,  Ih  ii  l..Hlll.fiil  livaliy, 
l.n..liirliNo  of  K«"Mrnil  }ulv,iii(„|^r,..     |„   n,,.   ,„,^y  ,.uimly  of 
^     Vi<^l..iiii,   in  ('..i.tnil  (',u>,„Im,   llinn   is  mi   iii.sl,iiH-«^  (.i'iIiIh 
lU'opiiKinilv.     'I'liicr  lowiiHliips,  uliiioHt  cxcluHivcly  hvluui^^ 
iii^r   <"    MiikHhIi,   Srol.'h,   Hi„l    IrJHl,    hc(II,.|m,    lin  *uIoi.;.Hi(l.) 
rHrli..llu"r;   Hiul  Ixawoon  jlu^  llinu^  Www  <«xiHtH  a  Hpiiil  ..f 
•'"iiilMlioii,   litrii   l.ul,  jiiuiruhlo,   UH    to  wliicli    pr.„|ii,.,.s  ll.o 
Im-VNl  ,.|(»i.H,  Hiul  (MiltiviilrH  ilm  limd  in  il,„   nioHt  Hkillul 
lu.mnrr.     Tl.o  ivsnll,  in  fol.l  l,y  mi  (-niiiuni  InHlinimi,  ii  nimi 
iniu-h  ivspocicl  in  Iuh  .list rid,,  mul  nvIioh*^  iiumi  cliciislKd 
rmil.ilion  in  i.»  hw  ]\\h  ('ountiynivn  rjuHo  ilu-niHc-lvcH  liinl„.v 
in   tli,^  oHfimalion  of    {\w   wcild   hy  il,,,  vxrwlno  of  Uioir 
MivutniiJurul  ^'iftHi-'l  ,nii  Imppy  an.l  ]^y^nu\  to  nay  iliut 
*oui-  coiiiilrvnuui  Imvo  \n'o\vd  Uu'uihvUvh  to  hv  (H|'ual  in 
'cvorv  iVHiM'cl,  to  tlioHo  from  i\w  nistcM*  kiiiodoniH.     To  my 
'iiiind,  tlu^   IriHli  township,   mroidiiio-  i,,  its  mimhrrs,  pm- 
•tlucos  tJi(^  liir.,'c^Hl,  crops.'     An«l  lu^  adds,  '  \lv\y  on  it,  if  your 
'(MMintrymcn  at.  Iionu^  had  lUo  mmw  fiV(doni' of  action,  ili« 
•HanicKcnsoof  security  and  (vrtainty  of  ivwaid,  that  thoy 
'have  in  our  five  (Canada,  ih(»y  won'ld  enjoy  in  their  own 
'country  thc^  sanu^  i)rosp(>rity  which  they  (Mijoy  h(!r(>.' 

To  me,  the  proposition  hwuxh  consistent  with  reas(.n  and 
common  sens(>.  thounh  fanatical  sticklers  for  iinao-inary 
Vri-hts  of  propirty  '  may  n^^^ard  it  as  little  better  than  rank 
l»las[)hemy. 

It  will  he  intvrestino-  to  seo  how  tho  Canadian  Tarlia- 
hient  dealt,  not  lono-  since,  with  the  Land  Question  of  tiie 
Lower  Province.  l'\)rtunately  for  tho  public  wcai-uv 
the  (tiniest  attention  «,f  tlu^  Canadian  Leoislature  was 
directed  to  the  t(>nure  by  which  the  cultivators  occupi(«d 
tho  soil,  and  (^specially  to  tho  oblioations  and  restrictions 
imposed  by  its  conditions  upon  that  most  important  cImss 
of  the  community  ;  and  in  ISCl  an  Act  was  passed,  wliich 
has  had,  and  must  continue  to  have,  a  marked  intluenco 
on  the  i)rosperity  of  tht>  i)rovinc(\ 

The   land   hud   been   orioinallv   hmvcII.^.I    -".<•    ..,>><^„...  « 


fill  liviiliy, 
<U>Hll(v  (if 
i<'(^  «il'  (liiH 
1,V  1m'I(iiij^'- 
Hl()ii;^Hi(|<i 
a  Hpiril  (»!' 
(Iiu'cs  i\\o 
l»Ht,  Hlvillul 
Hii,  u  mail 
cliciiHlicd 

'  of  tlu'ir 
Ha,y  iliiit 
(Mjiial  ill 
.  To  luy 
nn'H,  pro- 
ii,  if  your 
I'lioii,  ilu) 
lliai  ilu^y 
lu'ir  owu 
('. 

asoii  and 
nnp«-iiuny 
liaii  rank 

I  Parlia- 
»ii  of  ilio 
W(!lfar(% 
uro  \vaa 
>ct'upi(>(l 
trictioiis 
Lilt  class 
.1,  \vlucli 
ulluoiico 


nioiig  a 


WISK  rOLICV  OF  THE  CANADIAN  PAKMAMKNT.        131 

iiuitiImt  of  «<nal.  propii«>i()jH,  who  derived  tJjcir  vast  ciKtates 
directly  fic.m  lln)  Kiiin;H  of  I'raneo.     'VVitliout  enteriii;.^  into 
the  liiwtory  of   tlu^Ke  ^a-ants,  or  the  inaiiiier  in  \vhi<'li    tlio 
land  waH  ^'nuliially  occupied  j)y  the  cultivators,  who  came 
HH  Hettlers,  it  is  Kiillicient  to  state  that  tlu!  evils  with  which 
th((  Legislature  had  to  deal  «lid  not  arisi!  so  much  from  the 
Imrden  of  tli(^  rent,  or  the  duration  of  the  tenure,  as  from 
the'ri^^hts'  which  the  ])ropri(!torH  niserved  to  themselveH, 
The  r(!nt  was  ho  small  us  to  he  nu^n^ly  nominal,  in  fact  a 
f(!W  halfpence  p(!r  a(n-e  ;  hut  the;  '  rij^hts '—which  r(!s{ri(;ted 
the  liherty  of  the  tenant,  int(U'f<!red  with  the  tree  transfer 
•jf  ])roperty,  and  prevented  tlu!  puo^n-ess  of  the  country — 
(V(n'e  the  cause  of  the  discontent  that  (ixisfed,  and  which  it 
•rvas  th(i    ohject  of    tlie   Le^^islature   to  allay.     One  of   tho 
«o-call(Ml  'casual  ri;^ddH'  was  th(!  exchisive  mill  and  water- 
power  r(>served  to  himself  by  tlu^  feudal  l(U"d.     Not  only  was 
Mie   (riisi/(iin\  or  tc^nant,  com])clled   to  {jfrind   Ids  corn  at 
tlu!  landlord's  mill,  hut  the  latter  monopolised  the  water- 
pow(n'  within    liis  territory,  thus  ham])(!rinf«-   the   industry 
and  ent(a-prise  of  the  district.     Tlu^  otluu-  'rii>ht'  was  that 
by  which,  on  <! very  sale  and  transfer  of  prop(;rty,  the  one- 
twelfth  of  the  amount  of  the  purchase-money  wa.s  paid  to 
tho  lamllord.     Say  that  A  bou«^ht  property  from  13,  to  the 
value  of  120/.,  A,  in  addition  to  paying;  13  the  sum  of  120/. 
as  the   purchase-money  f(n-   his  interest,  had  also   to  pay 
another   one-twiafth,  or  10/.  more,   to   tlic  landk  rd  ;    and 
what  rendered  the  exercise  of  this  'ri^ht'  nuu-e  oi)prcssive 
and  detrimental,  was  the  uivl  that  on  n^cri/  ro-sale  of  the 
same  property  the   same  process  of  payinj,'  one-twelfth  to 
tho  seionit)r  had  to  be  j^one  throujj^h.     If  the  property  were 
improved   in  vahie,  the  seller  would   no    doubt   receive  a 
Liro-er  price  for  his   interest ;  but  the  sei<,niior's  one-twelfth 
wcmld  bo  the  greater  in  consinpienco  of  the  increased  vahio 
of  the  whole.     This  one-twelfth  so  reserved  to  the  seignioi 
was  termed  a  'mutation  iine.' 

To  get    rid   of    this   intolerable   grievance,   which  was 


1 
i 


if 


132 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


properly  regarded  as  a  grave  public  evil  as  weU  as  indi^ 
vidual  oppression,  the  Canadian  Legislature  passed  a  law 
alike   vigorous  and  comprehensive.      The  'casual  rights' 
speciaUy  including  those  mentioned,  were  bought  by  the 
State  at  a  cost  httle  short  of  One   Milhon   SterHng ;  and 
an  arrangement  was  made  for  the  capitahsation  and  pur- 
chase of  the  rent  by  the  tenant,  and  its  compulsory  sale  by 
the  landlord.      Here  was  an  instance  of  serious  danger 
wisely  averted  by  a  measure  which  in  the  British  Parha- 
ment  would  possibly  be   considered  revolutionary,  if  not 
altogether  confiscatory  in  its  character.      But  statesmen  in 
new  countries  are  either  more  vigorous  or  more  far-seeing 
than  statesmen  in  old  countries,  who  are  trammeHed  by 
traditions   and  enfeebled  by  prejudices  ;   besides,  the  very 
mstmct  of  a  young  nation  is  to  remove  from  its  path  every 
visible  impediment  to  its  progress. 

The  spirit  in  which  this  beneficent  law  was  conceived 
wiU  be  best  understood  fi-om  a  passage  taken  fi-om  its 
preamble,  and  another  from  its  concluding  clause. 

The  Preamble  says  :  '  Whereas  it  is  expedient  to  abolish 
'  aU  Feudal  Rights  and  Duties  in  Lower  Canada ;  and 
'  whereas,  in  consideration  of  the  great  advantages  which 
*  must  result  to  the  Province  from  their  abohtion,  and  the 
'substitution  of  a/ree  tenure  for  that  under  which  the 
'property  subject  thereto  hath  heretofore  been  sold,'  &c. 

The  concluding  clause  is  still  more  emphatic,  'it  pro- 
claims that—'  The  Legislature  reserves  the  right  of  making 
'  any  provisions,  declaratory  or  otherwise,  which  may  be 
'found  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  fuUy  carrying  out  the 
'  intention  of  this  Act ;  which  in  intent  is  declared  to  be, 
'to  aboHsh  as  soon  as  possible  all  feudal  or  seio-norial 
'  rights,  duties,  dues,  &c.  ...  And  to  aid  the  censitaire  out 
'  of  the  provincial  funds  in  the  redemption  of  those  sei^m- 
'orial  charges  icUch  interfere  most  injurioushj  with  his  inde- 
pendence, industry,  mid  enterjorise ;  and  every  enactment 
'and  provision  in  this  Act   shaU  receive   th«  most  liberal 


HAPPY  RESULTS  OF  A  WISE  POLICY. 


133 


sll  as  indi- 
ssed  a  law 
lal  rights,' 
?lit  by  tlia 
rling- ;  and 
I  and  pur- 
ely sale  by 
us  danger 
sh  Parlia- 
iry,  if  not 
itesmen  in 
far-seeing 
melled  by 
;,  the  very 
)ath  every 


'construction  possible,   with   a  view  to   ensure  the  accom- 
'phshraent  of  the  intention  of  the  Legislature  as  hereby 

*  stated.'  "^ 

•The  Mke  action  of  "the  Canadian  Parliament  at  once 
arrested  and  removed  the  deep-seated  feehng  of  discontent 
which  was  hourly  increasing  in  intensity.  From  the  example 
of  the  Canadian  Legislature  even  the  ParUament  of  the 
mother  country  may  derive  a  valuable  suggestion  as  to  the 
abohtion  of  those  '  seignorial  rights,  duties,  dues,'  &c.,  and 
the  redemption,  or  at  least  adjustment,  of  those  charges 

*  which  interfere  most  injuriously  with  the  independence, 
'  industry,  and  enterprise '  of  the  censitaire  of  L-eland.  The 
parent  need  not  be  ashamed  to  learn  a  lesson  from  the 
chHd,  especiaUy  when  the  wisdom  of  that  child's  policy  is 
proved  beyond  the  possibihty  of  doubt. 


•i* 


I   T 


conceived 
from  its 


to  abolish 
ada ;  and 
ges  which 
1,  and  the 
^^liich  the 
td,'  &c. 

It  pro- 
)f  making 
1  may  be 
g  out  the 
ed  to  be, 
seignorial 
ntaire  out 
•se  seign- 
his  indc- 
nactment 
^st  liberal 


134 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

The  Imh  Exodus— The  Quarantino  at  Gro.«se  Isle-Tl.o  Fpvpr 

uipuans— 1  he  Good  Canadians— Resistless  Elonuence— Ono  nf 

ow  S'";  •^ii'iH.r'-??"  M  ''^"^'^-^^'^  Pla,u2r  Monh^Jal-!! 
rw,.n.  7  •  ''V^'J-1'"'  JMoninnent  at  Point  St.  Charles-The 
&i,u(nionnd  m  Kings(on-An  illustrious  Victim  in  Toronto 

P:£^;F^!:;ranl2;i^e^rr:JiLlc:^^''^    «^^^-v-^« 

T  HAVE  more  than  once  referred  to  the  unfavourable 
J.     circumstances   under  which  the  vast  majority  of   the 
Irish  arrived  in  America,  and  the  difficulties  with  which 
ma  special  degree,  they  had  to  contend;  but  the  picture 
would  be  most  imperfect  were  not  some  reference  made  to 
the  disastrous  emigration  of  the  years  1847  and  1848-to 
that  blmd  and  desperate  rush  across  the  Atlantic  known 
and  described,  and  to  be  recognised  for  time  to  come,  as  the 
Irish  Exodus.     We  shall  confine  our  present  reference  to 
the  emigration  to  Canada,  and  track  its  course  up  the  waters 
of    he  St.  Lawrence.     A  glance  even  at  a  single  quarantine 
-  hat  of  Grosse  Isle,  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  about  thirty 
miles  below  Quebec-while  affording  a  faint  idea  of  the 
horrors  crowded  into  a  few  months,  may  enable  the  reader 
to  understand  with  what  alarm  the  advent  of  the  Irish  was 
regarded  by  the  well-to-do  colonists  of  British  America  • 
and  how  the   natural   terror   they   inspired,   through   the 
terrible    disease    brought    with  them    across    the    ocean 
deepened  the  prejudice  against  them,  notwithstanding  that 
their  sufferings  and  misery  appealed  to  the  best  sympathies 
of  the  human  heart. 

On  tlio  8th  of  May,  1847,  the  'Urania,'  from  Cork,  ,vith 
several  hm„lred  iun.igrants  on  board,  a  large  proportion 
of  them  siek  and  dying  of  the  ship-fever,  was  put  into 
quarantme  at  Grosse  Isle.     This  was  the  first  of  the  pla-nc- 


THE  IRISH  EXODUS— THE  SHIP  FEVER. 


135 


he  Fever 
'lie  Irish 
-One  of 
tntreal — 
les— The 
ji'onto — 
r  Upper 
3H'— The 


favourable 
tty  of   the 
itli  which, 
tie  picture 
e  made  to 
I  1848— to 
^ic  known 
me,  as  the 
Terence  to 
:he  waters 
uarantine 
)ut  thirty 
3a  of   the 
he  reader 
Irish  was 
America ; 
3iigh   the 
e    ocean, 
ding  that 
mjoatliics 

3rk,  witli 
'oportion 
put  into 
3  plague - 


smitten  ships  from  Ireland  which  that  year  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence.  But  before  the  first  week  of  June  as  many 
as  eighty-four  ships  of  various  tonnage  were  driven  in  by  an 
er.sterly  wind  ;  and  of  that  enormous  number  of  vessels 
there  was  not  one  free  from  the  taint  of  malignant  typhus, 
the  offspring  of  famine  and  of  the  foul  ship-hold.  This 
fleet  of  vessels  hterally  reeked  with  pestilence.  All  saiKng 
v^essels,— the  merciful  speed  of  the  well-appointed  steamer 
being  unknown  to  the  emigrant  of  those  days,— a  tolerably 
quick  passage  occupied  from  six  to  eight  weeks  ;  while  pas- 
sages of  ten  or  twelve  weeks,  and  even  a  longer  time,  were 
not  considered  at  all  extraordinary  at  a  period  when  craft 
of  every  kind,  the  most  unsuited  as  well  as  the  least  sea- 
worthy, were  pressed  into  the  service  of  human  deportation. 

Who  can  imagine  the  horrors  of  even  the  shortest  pas- 
sage in  an  emigrant  ship  crowded  beyond  its  utmost  capa- 
bility of  stowage  wdth  unhappy  beings  of  all  ages,  with 
fever  raging  in  their  midst  ?  Under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances  it  is  impossible  to  maintain  perfect  purity  of 
atmosphere  between  decks,  even  when  ports  are  open,  and 
every  device  is  adopted  to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of 
ventilation.  But  a  crowded  emigrant  sailmg  ship  of  twenty 
years  since,  with  fever  on  board  ! — the  crew  sullen  or  brutal 
from  very  desperation,  or  paralysed  with  terror  of  the 
plague — the  miserable  passengers  unable  to  help  them- 
selves, or  afford  the  least  rehef  to  each  other  ;  one-fourth, 
or  one-third,  or  one-haK  of  the  entire  number  in  different 
stages  of  the  disease  ;  many  dying,  some  dead  ;  the  fatal 
poison  intensified  by  the  indescribable  foulness  of  the  air 
breathed  and  rebreathed  by  the  gasping  sufferers — the 
wails  of  children,  the  ravings  of  the  delirious,  the  cries  and 
groans  of  those  in  mortal  agony  !  Of  the  eighty-four  emi- 
grant ships  that  anchored  at  Grosse  Isle  in  the  summer  of 
1847,  there  was  not  a  single  one  to  which  this  description 
migiit  not  rightly  aj^ply. 

The  authorities  were  taken   by  surprise,  owing  to   the 


136 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


sudden  arrival  of  this  pl-ofue-smitten  fleet,  and,  save  the 
sheds  that  remained  since  1832,  there  was  no  accommoda-- 
tion  of  any  kind  on  the  island.  These  sheds  were  rapidly 
filled  with  the  miserable  people,  the  sick  and  the  dying, 
and  round  their  walls  lay  groups  of  half-naked  men,' 
women,  and  children,  in  the  same  condition— sick  or  dying. 
Hundreds  were  hterally  flung  on  the  beach,  left  amid  the 
mud  and  stones,  to  crawl  on  the  dry  land  how  they  could. 

*  I  have  seen,'  says  the  priest  who  was  then  chaplain  of  the 
quarantine,  and  who  had  been  but  one  year  on  the  mission, 

*  I  have  one  day  seen  thirty-seven  people  lying  on  the  beach, 

*  crawHng  on  the  mud,  and  dying  hke  fish  out  of  water.' 
Many  of  these,  and  many  more  besides,  gasped  out  their 
last  breath  on  that  fatal  shore,  not  able  to  drag  them- 
selves from  the  shme  in  which  they  lay.  Death  was  doing 
its  work  everywhere— in  the  sheds,  around  the  sheds^ 
where  the  victims  lay  in  hundreds  under  the  canopy  of 
heaven,  and  in  the  poisonous  holds  of  the  plague  ships, 
aU  of  which  were  declared  to  be,  and  treated  as,  hos- 
pitals. 

From  ship  to  ship  the  young  Ii-ish  priest  carried  the 
consolations  of  rehgion  to  the  dying.  Amidst  shrieks,  and 
groans,  and  wild  ravings,  and  heart-rending  lamentations, 
—over  prostrate  sufferers  in  every  stage  of  the  sickness— 
fi-om  loathsome  berth  to  loathsome  berth,  he  pursued  his 
holy  task.  So  noxious  was  the  pent-up  atmosphere  of  these 
floating  pest-houses,  that  he  had  frequently  to  rush  on 
deck,  to  breathe  the  pure  air,  or  to  reheve  his  over-taxed 
stomach  ;  then  he  would  again  plunge  into  the  foul  den, 
and  resume  his  interrupted  labours. 

There  being,  at  first,  no  organisation,  no  staff,  no  avail- 
able resources,  it  mayl^e  imagined  why  the  mortahty  rose 
to  a  prodigious  rate,  and  how  at  one  time  as  many  as  150 
bodies,  most  of  them  in  a  half-naked  state,  would  be  piled 
up  in  the  dead-house,  awaiting  such  sepulture  as  a  huge 
pit  could  afford.     Poor  creatures  would  crawl  out  of  the 


HORRORS  OF  GROSSE  ISLE. 


137 


I,  save  the 
jcoiiiinocla- 
>re  rapidly 
tlie  dying, 
iked   men, 
:  or  dying, 
i  amid  the 
hey  could, 
ain  of  the 
e  mission, 
the  beach, 
of  water.' 

out  their 
:'ag  them- 
was  doing 
J.e  sheds, 
anopy  of 
^ue-ships, 

as,  hos- 

rried  the 
•ieks,  and 
natations, 
ickness — 
'sued  his 
3  of  these 
rush  on 
^er-taxed 
-oul  den, 

ao  avail- 
i-lity  rose 
y  as  150 
be  piled 
1  a  huge 
it  of  the 


sheds,  and  being  too  exhausted  to  return,  would  be  found 
lying  in  the  open  air,  not  a  few  of  them  rigid  in  death. 
When  th3  authorities  were  enabled  to  erect  sheds  sufficient 
for  the  reception  of  the  sick,  and  provide  a  staff  of  phy- 
sicians and   nurses,  and  the  Archbishop   of  Quebec   had 
appointed  a  number  of  priests,  who  took  the  hospital  duty 
in  turn,  there  was  of  course  more  order  and  regularity  ; 
but  the  mortaHty  was  for  a  time  scarcely  diminished.     The 
deaths  were  as  many  as  100,  and  150,  and  even  200  a  day, 
and  this  for  a  considerable   period   during  the   summer. 
The  masters  of  the  quarantine-bound  ships  were  naturally 
.  desirous   of  getting  rid  as  speedily  as  possible   of  their 
dangerous  and  unprofitable  freight ;    and  the  manner  in 
which  the  helpless  people  were  landed,  or  thrown,  on  the 
island,  aggravated  their  sufferings,  and  in  a  vast  number 
of  instances  precipitated  their  fate.     Then  the  hunger  and 
thirst  from  which  they  suffered  in  the  badly-found  ships, 
between    whose    crowded    and    stifling    decks    they    had 
been  so  long   pent  up,  had   so  far   destroyed   their  vital 
energy,  that  they  had  but  Uttle  chance  of  life  when  once 
struck  down. 

About  the  middle  of  June  the  young  chai^lain  was 
attacked  by  the  pestilence.  For  ten  days  he  had  not 
taken  off  his  clothes,  and  his  boots,  which  he  constantly 
wore  for  all  that  time,  had  to  be  cut  from  his  feet.  A 
couple  of  months  elapsed  before  he  resumed  his  duties  ; 
but  when  he  returned  to  his  post  of  danger  the  mortahty 
was  still  of  fearful  magnitude.  Several  priests,  a  few 
Irish,  the  majority  French  Canadians,  caught  the  infec- 
tion ;  and  of  the  twenty-five  who  were  attacked,  seven 
}\aid  with  their  lives  the  penalty  of  their  devotion.  Not  a 
I'ew  of  these  men  were  professors  in  colleges  ;  but  at  the 
appeal  of  the  Archbishop  they  left  their  classes  and  their 
studies  for  the  horrors  and  perils  of  the  fever  sheds. 

It  was  not  until  the  1st  of  November  that  the  quaran- 
tine of  Grosse  Isle  was  closed.     Upon  that  barren  isle  as 


I 

i 


138 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


M 


many  as  10,000  of  tlio  Iii.sli  raoo  wore  consigned  to  tlie 
trrave-pit.     By  .sonio  the  OHtiniato  is  made  much  higher,  and 
12,000  is  considered  nearer  the  actual  number.     A  register 
was  kept,  and  is  still  in  existence,  but  it  does  not ''com- 
mence earlier  than  June  KJ,  when  the  mortahty  was  nearly 
at  its  height.      According  to  this  death-roll,  there  were 
buried,  between  the  IGth  and  30th  of  June,  487  Irish  immi- 
grants 'whose  names  could  not  be  ascertained.'    In  July, 
1)11  were  thrown  into  nameless  graves;    and  in  August,' 
918  were  entered  in  the  register  under  the  comprehensive 
description— 'unknown.'      There  were   interred,  from  the 
Ifith  of  June  to  the  closing  of  the  quarantine  for  fhaf,  year, 
2,005  of  a  Christian  p(>ople,   whose  names  coidd  not  be 
discovered  amidst  the  confusion  and  carnage  of  that  fatal 
summer.     In  the  following  y(>iir,  2,000  additional  victims 
were  entered  in  the  same  register,  witliout  name  or  trace 
of  any  kind,  to  tell  who  they  were,  or  Avhence  they  had 
come.     Thus  5,000  out  of  the  total  number  of  victims  were 
simply  described  as  'unknown.' 

This  deplorable  havoc  of  human  life  left  hundreds  of  or- 
phans dependent  on  the  compassion  of  the  public  ;    and 
nobly  was  the  unconscious  appeal  of  this  multitude  of  des- 
titute little  ones  responded  to  by  the  French  Canadians. 
Half  Uiiked,   squalid,   covered  with   vermin   generated  by 
hunger,  fever,  and  the  fouhiess  of  the  ship's  hold,  perhaps 
with   the   germs  of  the  plague   lurking  in   their  vitiated 
blood,   these   helpless  innocents   of  every   age— from   the 
infant  taken  from  the  bosom  of  its  dead  mother  to  the 
child  that  could  barely  tell  the  name  of  its  parents— were 
gathered  under   the   fostering  protection   of  the  Church. 
They  wei-e  washed,  and  clad,  and  fed  ;  and  every  eftbrt  was 
made  by  tlio  clergy  and  nuns  who  took  them  into  their 
charge  to  discover  who  they  were,  what  their  names,  and 
which  of  them  wore  related  the  one  to  the  other,  so  that,  if 
possible,  children  of  the  same  family  might  not  bo  sepa- 
rated for  ever.     A  diflicult  tiling  it  was  to  learn  fi-om  more 


THE  GOOD  CANADIANS. 


139 


0(1  to  the 
i^her,  and 
1  register 
not  com- 
mas nearly 
lore  were 
isli  immi- 

In  July, 
i  August, 
rehensive 
from  the 
ihat  year, 
1  not  be 
that  fatal 
il  victims 

or  trace 
tlu:/  had 
ims  were 

Is  of  or- 
Hc ;  and 
e  of  des- 

madians. 

L'ated  by 

perhaps 

vitiated 

rom   the 

I'  to  the 

ts — were 

Cliurch. 

Tort  was 

to  their 

nes,  and 

I  that,  if 

JO  sepa- 

)m  mora 


infants  whether,  among  more  tlian  (]00  orphans,  they  had 
brotliers  or  sisters.  But  by  patiently  observing  the  little 
creatures  when  they  found  strength  and  courage  to  play, 
their  watchful  protectors  were  enabled  to  find  out  relation- 
ships which,  without  such  care,  would  have  been  otherwise 
unknown.  If  one  infant  ran  to  meet  another,  or  caught 
its  hand,  or  smiled  at  it,  or  kissed  it,  or  showed  pleasure 
in  its  society,  here  was  a  clue  to  be  followed ;  and  in  many 
instances  children  of  the  same  parents  were  thus  preserved 
to  each  other.  Many  more,  of  course,  were  separated  for 
ever,  as  these  children  were  too  young  to  tell  their  own 
names,  or  do  anything  save  cry  in  piteous  accents  for 
'mammy,  mammy!'  until  soothed  to  slumber  in  the  arms 
of  a  compassionate  Sister. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  orphans  of  the  Grosse  Isle 
tragedy  were  adopted  by  the  French  Canadians,  who  were 
appealed  to  by  their  curh  at  the  earnest  request  of  Father 
Cazeau,  then  Secretary  to  the  Archbishop,  and  now  one  of 
the  Vicars  General  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Quebec.  M. 
Cazeau  is  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  ecclesiastics  of  the  Cana- 
dian Church,  and  is  no  less  remarkable  for  worth  and  abihty 
dian  for  the  generous  interest  he  has  ever  exhibited  for  the 
Irish  people.  Father  Cazeau  had  employed  his  powerful 
inlluonce  with  the  country  clergy  to  provide  for  the  greater 
number  of  the  children ;  but  some  200  still  remained  in  a 
building  specially  set  apart  for  them,  and  this  is  how  these 
200  Irish  orphans  were  hkewise  provided  for  : 

Monseigneur  Baiilargeon,  Bishop  of  Quebec,  was  then  cure 
of  the  city.  He  had  received  three  or  four  of  the  orphans 
into  his  own  house,  and  among  them  a  beautiful  boy  of 
two  years,  or  perhaps  somewhat  younger.  The  others  had 
been  taken  from  him  and  adopted  by  the  kindly  hahifnns, 
and  become  part  of  their  families;  but  the  little  feUow,' 
who  was  the  cur(;'s  special  pet,  remained  with  him  for 
nearly  two  years.  From  creeping  up  and  down  stairs,  and 
toddling  about  in  every  direction,  he  soon  began  to  grow 


I 
I 


4. 


.-I 


no 


THE  IIIISH  IN  AMERICA. 


s 


,2* 

.V, 


strong,  Jiiid  bold,  and  iioisy,  uh  a  lino  li(.altlij  cliild  would 
bo;  buUlu)iin:li  Iuh  I'ond  protector  rojoicod  in  iho  licalth 
and  boauty-()f  t,li(3  ])oy,  ho  found  liini  raUior  unsuiti'd  to 
iho  (iniot  gravity  of  a  priest's  houso,  and  a  do(nded  ob- 
Htaclo   to   study  and    nicditation.      In    tlio    midst   of  his 
porph^xity,  of  which  tho  child  was  tho  unconscious  cause 
to   tiic^   Cur.5   of  (,)u('b(>c,    a   dcr-ynian   from   tho   country 
JUTiNvd  m  town.     Tliis  priest  visited  M.  Daillargoon,  who 
told  Inm  that  ho  had  2(){)  poor  orphan  cliildron— tho  crhild- 
r(vn  of  Mlio  faithful  Catholic  Irish  '-still  unprovided  with  a 
liom(>,  and  ho  was  most  anxious  that  his  visitor  should  call 
on  his  i)arishionors  to    take   thorn.      'Come/   said  he   'I 
will  show  you  a  sample  of  them,  and  you  can  toll  your 
l)(H>plo  what  they  arc  hko.'     Saying  this,  M.  Baillargeon 
led  Ins  visitor, up  stairs,   and  into  the  room  where,  in  a 
little  cot,  tho  orphan  cliild  was  lying  in  rosy  sleep.      As 
the  light  feU  upon  i\w  features  of  the  Ix^autiful  boy,  who 
was  reposing  in    all    the   unrivalled  grace  of  infancy,  the 
country  cur(5  was  greatly  touched :  he  had  never,  he  said, 
Boon  a  'lovelier  little  ang(^r  in  his  life.     'WoU,'  said  M.' 
Baillargeon,   'I  have  200  more  as  handsome.      Take  him 
with  you,  show  him  to  your  peoi)le,  and  tell  them  to  coino 
for   the  others.'     Tliat  v(>ry  night    the   boat  in  which  he 
was  to  reach  his  parish  was  to  start ;  and  the  curd  wrapped 
the  infant  carc^fully  in  the  blank(«t  in  which  he  lay,  and, 
without  disturbing  his  slumber,  bore  him  off  to  tho  boat,' 
Ji  valued  prize. 

Tho  next  Sunday  a  strange  sight  was  witnessed  in  the 
parish  cliurch  of  which  tho  curd  was  tho  pastor.  The 
priest  was  seen  issui]>g  from  the  sacristy,  holding  in  his 
arms  a  boy  of  singular  beauty,  whose  iittle  hands  were 
tightly  clasped,  half  in  terror,  half  in  excitement,  round 
tho  neck  of  his  bearer.  Every  eye  was  turned  towards  this 
Btrange  spectacle,  and  the  most  intense  curiosity  was  felt 
by  tho  congregation,  in  a  greater  degi-ee  by  the  women. 


Rl^SISTLKSS  ELOQUENCE. 


141 


liild  Avoiild 

ill(!     llCilltll 

iisiiitcd  to 
r!(n(Ie(l  ob- 
Xnt  of  his 
ions  ciiiiHe 

0  country 
•fj;o.on,  who 
-tlio  child- 
lod  witli  a 
houhl  ciiU 
iiid  he   *I 

toll  your 
iiillarfi^oon 
liQYo,  in  a 
l(>op.      As 

boy,  Avho 
Pjuiey,  the 
',  he  said, 
'  said  M. 
fake  him 

1  to  coino 
whic;!!  he 
!  wrapped 
lily,  and, 
the  boat, 

3d  in  the 
or.  The 
ig  in  his 
ads*  were 
it,  round 
ards  this 
Avas  felt 
i  "women, 


especially  those  who  wore  mothers,  to  learn  what  it  meant. 
It  was  soon  exi)lained  by  their  pastor,  who  said  :— 

'Look  at  this  Httle  boy!     Poor  infant!  (Hore  the  curr^ 

embraced  him).     Look   at  his   noble   forehead,  his  bri«.^lit 

eyes,    his  cnrliiiH'  hair,  his  mouth  like  a  cheru))'s  !      Oh, 

wliat  a  b(!autiful  boy !     (Another  embrace,  the  half-terrified 

(!hild  cliii<,nnnr  closer  to  the  priest's  breast,  his  tears  droj)- 

phi^'  fast  npon  the  surplice.)     'Look,  my  dear  fricuids,  at 

this  beautiful  child,  who  has  been  sent  l)y  God  to  (mr  care. 

There  are  200  as  beautiful  children  as  this  poor  forlorn 

infant.      They  were  starved  out  of  their  own  country  ])y 

bad  laws,  and  their  fathers  and  theiv  poor  mothers  now  lie 

in  the  great   grave  at  Grosse  Isle.      Poor  mothers!  they 

could    not   remain   with    their   little   ones.      You   will  bo 

mothers  to  them.     The  father  vlied,  and  the  mother  died  ; 

but  before  she  died,  the  pious  mother— the  Irish  CathoHc 

Qiother— left  them  to  the  good  God,  and  the    good    God 

"low  gives  tliem  to  you.     Mothers,  you  will  not  refuse  the 

gift  of  the  good  God!     (The  kindly  people  responded  to 

this  appeal  with  tears  and  gestures  of  passionate  assent.) 

Go  quickly  to  Quebec  ;   there  you  will  find  these  orphan 

children— these  gifts  offered  to  you  by  the  good  God go 

quickly— go  to-morrow— lose  not  a  moment— take  them 
and  carry  them  to  your  homes,  and  they  will  bring  a 
blessing  on  you  and  your  famihes.  I  say,  go  to-morrow 
without  fail,  or  others  may  be  before  you.  Yes,  dear 
friends,  they  will  be  a  blessing  to  you  as  they  grow  up,  a 
strong  healthy  race— fine  women,  and  fine  men,  like  this 
Ijeautiful  boy.  Poor  child,  you  wHl  be  sure  to  find  a 
second  mother  in  this  congregation.'  (Another  em- 
brace, the  little  fdlow's  tears  flowing  more  abundantly  ; 
every  eye  in  the  church  ghstening  with  responsive 
sympathy). 

This  was  the  cure's  sermon,  and  it  may  be  doubted  if 
Bossuet  or  Fenelon  ever  produced  a  like  ellect.  Next  day 
there  was  to  be  seen  a  long  profession  of  waggons  moving 


% 


1 
I 


i 


# 


I  r 
I  I 

1 

I 
I 


142 


THE  lUISII  IN  AMEUICA. 


towiirds  Qiu^bcc  ;  uiul  on  tlie  ovonin^r  of  tliat  day  tlioi-o  was 

not  one  of  the  2(K)  Irish  orphan.s  that  had  not  hevn  hrou^rht 

to  a  Canadian  home,  there  to  bo  nurtured  with  tenckuiu^sM 

and  love,  as  tlie  j,nft  of  tlie  /ion  Diau.     Toswibly,  in  some 

instances    tlnit  tenderness  and   love  were  not  requited  in 

after  life,  but  in  most  instances  the  Irish  orphan  brought  a 

blessin*,'  to  the  hearth  of  its  adopted  parents.     Tin?  boy 

whoso  beauty  and  whoso  tears  so  jjowcrfully  assisted  the 

sinii)le  oratory  of  the  j,^ood  cure,  is  now  one  of  the  ablest 

hiwyers  in  (^uelx-c^-  but  a  French  Canadian  in  every  respect 

save  in  birth  and  blood. 

As  soon  as  nrood  food  and  tender  care  had  restored 
vigour  to  their  youthful  limbs,  the  nnijority  of  the  ori)hans 
played  in  happy  unconsciousness  of  their  bereavennnit  ; 
but  there  were  others,  a  few  years  older,  on  whom  the 
horrors  of  Grosso  Isle  had  made  a  lasting-  impression. 

A  decent  couple  had  sailed  in  one  of  the  ships,  bringing 
with  them  two  girls  and  a  boy,  the  elder  of  the  former 
being  about  thirteen,  the  boy  not  more  than  seven  or  eight. 
The  father  dicil  lirst,  the  mother  next.     As  the  affrighted 
children   knelt  by  their   dying  mother,   the  poor  woman, 
strong  in  her  faith,  with  her  last  accents  confided  her  help- 
less offspring  to  'the  protection  of  God  and  His  Blessed 
Mother,'  and  told  them  to  have  confidence  in  the  Father 
of  the  widow  and  the  orphan.     Lovingly  did  the  cold  hand 
linger  on  the  head  of  her  boy,  as,  with  expiring  energy, 
she  invoked  a  blessing  upon  him  and  his  weeping  sistcn's! 
Thus  the  pious  mother  died  in  the  fever-shed  of  Grosse  Isle. 
The  children  were  taken  care  of,  and  sent  to  the   same 
district,  so  as  not  to  be  separated  from  each  other.     The 
boy  was  received  into  the  home  of  a  French  Canadian  ;  his 
sisters  were  ad(5pted  by  another  family  in  the  neighbour- 
hood.    For  two  weeks  the  boy  never  uttered  a  word,  never 
smiled,  never  appeared  conscious  of  the  presence  of  those 
around  him,   or  of  the  attention  lavished  on  him  by  his 
generous    protectors,  who    liad   iilmost    come    to   believe 


^  tll<!rO  WllH 

till  brou^dit, 
icruIornoHM 
ly,  ill  Koiiio 
'e(niit,ecl  in 
brought  H 
Tlio  bov 
"isistcd  tho 
tlio  JlbloHt 
ivy  respect 

I  restored 
10  orplians 
JiivoiiK'iit  ; 
whom  tliG 
iioii. 

i,  briiiginj^' 
le  I'oriuor 
1  or  eight. 
jiffri{^}it(Kl 
r  woman, 

her  help- 
s  Blessed 
le  Father 
3old  hand 
fjf  enern^y, 
ig  sisters, 
'osse  Isle, 
the  same 
lor.  The 
lian  ;  his 
sighbour- 
rd,  never 

of  tliose 
n  by  his 
J   believe 


ONE   OF   THE  OUl'llANS    OF   THE   I'LAGIJP:. 


143 


tliut  they  had  adopted  a  little  mute,  or  that  he  had  monion- 

tarily  lost  the  power  of  Hi)(!e<!h  through  fright  or  starvaticm 

iJiit  at  tlie  end  of  the  fortnight  he  reli(!ved  t]u?m  of  their 

fears   by  uttering  some  words  of,  to  them,  an  uidviiowu 

language  ;  and  from  that  monu^nt  the  spell,  wrought,  as  it 

were,  by  the  cold  hand  of  his  dying  mother,  i)assed  from 

ilie  spirit  of  the  boy,  and  he  thenceforth  clung  with  ihe 

fondness    of    youth    to    his    second  parents.      The    Irish 

orphan  soon  spoke  the  language  of  his  new  home,  though 

he  never  lost  the  memory  of  the  fever-sheds  and  the  awful 

death-bed,  or  of  his  weeping  sisters,  and  the   last  words 

spoken  by  the  faithful  Christian  woman  who  connnended 

him   to   the  protection   of  God  and  His  Blessed  Mother. 

He  grew  up  a  youth  of  extraordinary  promise,   and  was 

received  into  the  college  of  Nicolet,  then  in  the  diocese  of 

Quebec,  where  he  graduated  A\ith  the   greatest   honours. 

His  vocation  being  for  the  Church,  he  became  a  priest ;  and 

it  was  in  1805  that,  as  a  deacon,  he  entered  the  College  of 

St.   Michael,  near  Toronto,  to  learn   the  language  of  his 

parents,  of  which  he  had  lost  all  remembrance.     Ho  is  now 

one  of  the  moat  distinguished  professors  of  the  college  in 

which  he  was   educated  ;   and,  in  order  to  pay  back  the 

debt  incurred  by  his  support  and  education,  he  does  not 

accept  more  than  a  small  stipend  for  his  services.     Of  his 

Irish  name,  which  he  was  able  to  retain,  he  is  very  proud ; 

and  though  his  tongue  is  more  that  of  a  French  Canadian, 

his  feelings  and  sympathies  are  with  the  people  and  the 

country  of  his   birth.     The  prayers  of  the  dying  mother 

were  indeed  heard  ;  for  the  elder  of  the  girls  was  married 

by  the  gentleman  who  received  them  both  int(.  his  house, 

and  the  younger  is  ir  a  convent. 

Absorbed  thus  into  the  families  of  the  French-speaking 
population,  even  the  older  Irish  orphans  soon  lost  almost 
every  jncmory  of  their  former  home  and  of  their  parents, 
and  grew  up  French  Canadians  in  every  respect  save  the 
more  vigorous  constitution  for  which  they  were  indebted 


I 


4 


4 


Ui 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


to  imturo.  It  iH  not,  tlicrnforo,  ji  raro  thiii/r  to  behold  a 
tall,  Htni|>i)iM;(,  fiiir-HkiniuHl  yoniinr  fi-Ilow,  with  an  iiinniH- 
liikabh)  Irinh  iianio,  and  an  unnii.stakahh)  Irish  faco,  who 
Hix-akH  and  thinkH  an  a  Frcmrli  Canadian.  Tims  f^'cnuitio 
Irish  nanu>H— as  Cassidy,  or  !Lonor<,^an,  or  Sullivan,  or 
Qiiinn,  or  Murphy— aro  to  bo  heard  of  at  this  day  in  many 
of  tho  homes  of  the  kindl^y  hahi/an>i  of  Lower  Canada. 

Though  it  was  the  humane  policy  of  those  who  took  earo 
of  the  <)ri)hans  of  (lr()ss(i  Isle  to  keep  the  same  family  in 
the  same  nei^dibourhood,  so  as  not  to  separate  l)rothor 
from  sister,  it  has  happened  that  a  brother  has  been  roared 
by  a  Freneh  family,  and  a  sister  by  an  Irish,  or  En<,dish- 
Hpeakinjjf,  family ;  and  wluwi  tlu»  ori)hans  hav(i  boon  brought 
tojrether  by  their  adopted  parents,  they  could  only  oxpi^ss 
their  emotionf^  by  ombracea  and  tears— tho  language  of  the 
heart. 

In  some,  but   raro  instances,  visions  of  the   past  havo 
haunted  the  memory  of  Irish  orphans  in  their  new  homes. 
One  of  these,  a  young  girl  who  bore  the  name  of  hor  pro- 
tectt)rs,  was  poss(>sscd  with  a  passionate  longing  to  learn 
her  real  name,  and  to  know  something  of  hor  parents.     A 
once  familiar  sound,  which  she  somehow  associated  with 
her  former  name,  Jloated  tlirongh  her  brain,  vaguo  and  in- 
distinct, but  over  present.     The  longing  to  ascertain  who 
sho  was,  and  whether  either  of  hor  parents  was  still  living, 
grew  into  an  absorbing  passion,  which  preyed  upon  her 
h(\'ilth.     She  would  frequently  write  w^nit   expressed  her 
recollectit)n  of  tho  name  she  had  onco  borne,  and  which  she 
thought  sho  had  been  called  in  her  infancy  by  those  who 
loved  her.     Tho  desire  to  clear  up  tho  doubt  becoming  at 
length  uncontrollable,  she  implored  the  curd  of  her  parish 
to   institute   inquiries   in   her  behalf.     Written  in  French 
characters,  nearly  all   resemblance  to  the  supposed  name 
was  lost ;  but  through  the  aid  of  inquiries  set  on  foot  by 
Fatlnn-  Dowd,  the  Parish  Priest  of  St.  Patrick's,  in  Mon- 
treal, and  guided  by  the  faint  indication  allbrded  by  what 


TIIR  Pf.ACUE  IN  MONTIIKAL. 


146 


:o  behold  a 
I  nn  iiniuiH- 
i  fiico,  who 
Ills  «r('iiiiitio 
■iiillivjin,  or 
hiy  ill  iiiiiny 
tuuhi. 

lo  took  caro 
o  fuinily  in 
ito  Ijrother 
)cc!n  roarod 
3r  EM^li.sh- 
on  brought 
lily  cxi)rcsH 
-lagc  of  tho 

past  havo 
low  homes, 
jf  her  pro- 
g  to  learn 
areiits.  A 
liatcd  with 
juo  and  in- 
Lsrtain  who 
still  living-, 

upon  her 
ressed  her 

wliieh  she 
those  who 
scorning  at 
her  parisli 
in  French 
)scd  nanio 
)n  foot  by 
s,  in  Mon- 
d  by  what 


resembled  a  sound  more  than  a  sirnamo,  it  was  discovered 
that  her  imAhi'v  had  taken  her  out  to  America  in  18-17, 
and  that  her  fatlier  had  never  ciuitted  Ireland.  A  com- 
munication was  at  once  establish,,,!  l,(.twecn  fatlier  and 
child;  and  from  that  moment  th,)  girl  began  to  recover 
her  health,  which  had  been  nearly  sacrilieed  to  her  pas- 
uionate  yearning. 

The   horrors   of    Grosse   Isle   had   their  counterpart  in 
Montreal. 

As  in  Quebec,  the  mortality  was  greater  in  1817  than  in 
the  year  fol],)wiiig ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  close  of  1848  tliat 
the  plague  might  l)e  said  to  bo  extinguished,  not  without 
fearful  sacritu;e  of  lif(>.     During  the  months  of  June,  July, 
August,  and  September,  the  season  when  nature  wears  her 
most  glori,.uK  garb  of  loveliness,  as  many  as  eleven  hun- 
dred of  '  the  faithful  Irish,'  as  the  Canadian  priest  truly  de- 
scnl)ed  them,  were  lying  at  one  tune  in  the  fever-sheds  at 
Point  St.  Charles,  in  which  rough  wooden  beds  were  placed 
in  rows,  and  so  close  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  room  to  pass. 
In  these  miserable  cribs  the  patients  lay,  sometimes  two 
together,  looking,  as  a  Sister  of  Charity  since  wrote,  'as  if 
they  were  in  tlieir  coffins,'  from  tlie  box-like  appearance  of 
their  wretched  beds.     Tiiroughout  those  glorious  months, 
while  the  sun  shone  brightly,  and  the  majestic  river  rolled 
along  in  golden  waves,  hundreds  of  the  p,)or  Irish   were 
dying  daily.     The  world  outside  was  gay  and  glad,  but  death 
was  noting  in  the  fever-sheds.     It  was  a  moment  to  try 
the  devotion  which  rehgion  inspires,  to  test  tho  courage 
with  which  it  animates  the  gentlest   breast.     First   came 
the  Gr(>y  Nuns,  strong  in  love  and  faitli ;  but  so  malignant 
was  the  disease,  that  thirty  of  their  number  were  stricken 
down,  and  thirteen  died  the  death  of.  martyrs.     There  was 
no  faltering,  no  holding  back;  no*  sooner  were  the  ranks 
thinned  by  death  than  the  gaps  were  quickly  fiUed ;    and 
when  the  Grey  Nuns  were  driven  to   the   last   extremity, 
the  Sisters  of    Providence   came  to  their  assistance,  and 

7 


i. 
I 

I 

4 

H 


4 
4- 


J 


liG 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


took  their  pljicc  by  the  side  of  the  dying  Btrangcrs,  But 
when  even  their  aid  did  not  suffice  to  meet  the  emero-ency, 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Josepli,  thono-h  cloistered  nuns,  received 
tlie  permission  of  the  Bishop  to  share  with  their  sist(>r 
reho-iov,s  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  hibour  by  day  and 


night 


'I  am  the  only  one  left,'  were  the  thrilling  words  in 
which  the  surviving  priest  announced  from  the  pulpit  the 
ravages  that  the  '  ocean  plague  '  had  made  in  the  ranks  of 
the  clergy.  With  a  single  exception,  the  local  priests  were 
either  sick  or  dead.  Eight  of  the  number  fell  at  their 
post,  true  to  their  duty.  The  good  Bishop,  Monsoigneur 
Bourget,  then  weiit  liimself,  to  take  his  turn  in  the  lazar- 
house ;  but  the  enemy  was  too  mighty  for  his  zeal,  and 
having  remain(Hl  in  the  discharge  of  his  self-imposed  task 
for  a  day  and  a  night,  he  contracted  the  fever,  and  was 
carried  home  to  a  sick-bed,  where  he  lay  for  weeks,  hover- 
ing between  life  and  death,  amid  the  tears  and  prayers  of 
his  people,  to  whom  Providence  restored  him  after  a  period 
of  intense  anxiety  to  them,  and  long  and  weary  suffering 
to  him. 

When  the  city  priests  were  found  inadequate  to  the  dis- 
charge of  their  pressing  duties,  the  country  priests  cheer- 
fully responded  to  the  call  of  their  Bishop,  and  came  to 
the  assistance  of  their  brethren  ;  and  of  the  country  priests 
not  a  few  found  the  grave  and  the  crown  of  the  martyr. 

xVniong  the  priests  who  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  duty  in 
the  fever-sheds  of  Montreal  was  FaQier  Richards,  a  vener- 
able man,  long  past^  the  time  of  active  service!  A  convert 
from  i\Ietliodism.  in  early  hfe,  he  had  specially  devoted  his 
services  to  the  Irish,  then  but  a  very  small  proportion  of 
the  population  ;  and  now,  when  the  cry  of  distress  from  the 
same  race  was  heard,  the  good  old  man  could  not  be  re- 
strained from  ministering  to  their  wants.  Not  only  did  ho 
mainly  provide  for  the  safety  of  the  hundreds  of  orpluiu 
children,  whom  the  death  of  their  parents  had  left  to  the 


nnfcra.     But 

!  oniorooiK'.y, 

ms,  received 

tlieir  sister 

by  diiy  aiul 

ig  words   iu 

0  inilx)it  the 
;lie  rtinks  of 
priests  were 
fell  at  tlieir 
lonseigiieur 

1  the  lazar- 
'.B  zeal,  and 
iiposed  task 
n-,  and  was 
eeks,  liover- 
1  prayers  of 
ter  a  period 
t'y  suffering 

to  the  dis- 
iests  clieer- 
id  came  to 
ntrj^  priests 
martyr, 
eir  duty  iu 
ds,^a  vener- 

A  convert 
ievoted  his 
oportion  of 
ss  from  the 

not  be  re- 
only  did  he 

of    or])] IP.  11        m 

left  to  the 


HOW  THE  IRISH  DIED.  ^47 

mercy  of  the  charitable,  but,  in  spite  of  his  great  age,  he 
laboured  m  the  sheds  with  a  zeal  which  could  not  bo 
excelled. 

'  Father  Richards  wants  fresh  straw  for  the  beds,'  said 
the  messenger  to  the  mayor. 

'  Certainly,  he  shall  have  it :  I  wish  it  was  gold,  for  his 
Bake,  replied  the  mayor. 

A  few  days  after  both  Protestant  mayor  and  Catholio 
priest  '  had  gone  where  straw  and  gold  are  of  equal  value  ' 
wrote  the  Sister  already  mentioned.  Both  had  died  mar- 
tyrs of  charity. 

Only  a  few  days  before  Father  Richards  was  seized  with 
his  fatal  lUness  he  preached  on  Sunday  in  St.  Patrick's 
and  none  who  heard  him  on  that  occasion  could  forget  the 
venerable  appearance  and  impressive  words  of  that  noble 
servant  of  God.  Addressing  a  hushed  and  sorrow-stricken 
audience,  as  the  tears  rolled  down  his  aged  clieeks,  he 
thus  spoke  of  the  sufferings  and  the  faith  of  the  Irish  :— 

'  Oh,  my  beloved   brethren,  grieve   not,  I  beseech  you 
tor   the    sufferings   and  death   of  so   many  of    your  race' 
perchance  your  kindred,  who  have  fallen,  and  dre  stiU  to 
fall,  victims   to    this  fearful   pestilence.      Their    patience 
their  faith,  have  edified  all  whose  privilege  it  was  to  wit- 
ness it.     Their  faith,  their  resignation  to  the  wiU  of  God 
under-  such  unprecedented  misery,  is  something  so  extra- 
ordinary that,  to  realise  it,  it  requires  to  be  seen.     Oh  my 
brethren,  grieve   not  for    them  ;   they  did   but  pass   from 
earth    to   the  glory  of  heaven.      True,  they  were  cast  in 
iK^aps  mto  the  earth,  their  place  of  sepulture  marked  by 
no   name   or  epitaph  ;   but  I   tell  you,  my  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  that  from  their  ashes   the  faith  will  spring  up 
along  the  St.  Lawrence,  for  they  died  martyrs,  as  they  lived 
confessors,  to  the  faith.' 

The  whole  city,  Protestant   and  Catholic,  mourned  tlie 
death   of  this   fiP.e   old  man,  one  of  the   most  illustrious  " 
victims  of  the  scourge  in  Montreal. 


I 


i 


J 
4 


yCIUAC'i<^' 


r> 


148 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


The  orplian  children  Averc  ^'athered  to  the  homes  and 
hearts  of  the  generous  Canadians  and  the  loving  Irish  ; 
and  most  of  them  had  grown  np  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood before  either  monument  or  epitaph  marked  the  s])()t 
in  which  the  bones  of  their  dead  parents  were  mingling 
with  the  dust.  But  there  is  a  monument  and  a  record, 
the  pious  work  of  English  workmen,  inspired  by  the 
humane  suggestion  of  English  gentlemen.  In  the  centre 
of  a  railed-in  spot  of  land  at  Point  St.  Charles,  Avitliin  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  of  the  Victoria  Bridge,  that  wondrous 
structure  which  spans  the  broad  St.  Lawrence,  there  is  a 
huge  boulder,  taken  from  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  placed 
on  a  platform  of  roughly  hewn  stone ;  and  on  that  boulder 
there  is  this  inscription  : — 

:  TO 

Prescrvo  IVom  dosocration 

THE   liKMAlXS    OK   SIX    TIlOl  .SAND    IMMIGIIAN'TS, 

Wlio  dio«l  of  Sliip-fever, 

A.I).  1847-8, 

This  stone  is  oiccUmI  by  the 

WOKKMKN    OK   MKSSUS.   I'lOTO,   ItltASSY,    AND  HKTTS, 

Employed  in  the 
Construction  of  the  Vietoria  Bridge, 

A.D.  18")!). 

In  the  church  of  the  Bon  Secour  one  may  see  a  memorial 
picture,  repesrenting  with  all  the  painter's  art  the  horrors 
and  the  glories  of  the  fever-shed — the  dying  Irish,  strong 
in  their  faith — the  ministering  Sisters  shedding  peace  on 
the  pillow  of  suffering — the  holy  Bishop  allbrding  the  last 
consolations  of  religion  to  those  to  w^hom  the  world  was 
then  as  nothing  :  but,  in  its  terrible  significance,  the  rude 
monument  by  that  mighty  river's  side  is  far  more  im- 
pressive. 

Let  us  follow  the  Irish  emigrant — '  the  faithful  Irish ' — 
farther  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 

In  the  grounds  of  the  General  Hospital  of  Kingston 
there  is  an  artificial  mound,  of  gentle  swell  and  moderate 


I  liomcs  and 
oving  Irish  ; 
and  wonian- 
Ivcd  the  .S])()t 
ii'c  miiif^'lin<^ 
id  a  record, 
red  by  the 
ti  the  centre 
h\s,  Avitliin  a 
at  wondrous 
e,  there  is  a 
,  and  placed 
that  boulder 


rs, 


?  a  memorial 
the  horrors 
[riwh,  strong 
iig  peace  on 
ing  the  last 
e  world  was 
ice,  the  rude 
r   more   im- 

iful  Irish'— 

)f    Kingston 
id  moderate 


THE  GRAVE-MOUND  IN  KINGSTON. 


U9 


elevation,  the  grass  on  which  is  ever  green,  as  if  owing  to 
some  pecuhar  richness  of  the  soil.  When  verdure  has 
been  elsewhere  burned  up  or  parched,  on  this  soft-swelling 
mound  greenness  is  perpetual.  Beneath  that  verdant 
shroud  lie  mouldering  the  bones  of  1,900  Irish  immigrants, 
victims  of  the  same  awful  scourge  of  their  race — the  ship 
fever.  With  the  intention  of  pushing  on  to  the  West,  the 
goal  of  their  hopes,  multitudes  of  the  Irish  reached  Kir.gs- 
ton,  350  miles  up  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec  ;  but  the 
plague  broke  out  amongst  this  mass  of  Human  misery,  and 
they  rotted  away  hko  sheep.  So  fast  did  they  die,  that 
there  were  not  means  to  provide  coffins  in  which  to  inter 
them.  There  was  timber  more  than  sufficient  for  the 
purpose,  but  the  hands  to  fashion  the  plank  into  the 
coffin  v'-re  too  few,  and  Death  was  too  rapid  in  his  stroke  ; 
and  so  a  huge  pit  of  circular  form  was  dug,  and  in  it  were 
laid,  in  tiers,  piled  one  upon  the  other,  the  bodies  of  1,900 
men,  women,  and  children  :  and  even  to  the  hour  when  I 
beheld  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  imparting  additional 
beauty  to  its  vivid  greenness,  there  was  neither  rail,  nor 
fence,  nor  stone,  nor  cross,  nor  inscription,  to  tell  that  1,900 
of  a  Christian  people  slept  beneath  the  turf  of  that  gigan- 
tic grave. 

Twenty  years  ago  Kingston  was  a  small  place,  with  Httle 
more  than  half  its  present  population  ;  and  the  Irish,  who 
now  form  an  important  portion  of  its  community,  were 
then  comparatively  few  in  number.  But  in  no  part  of 
British  America  did  the  Irish  display  a  more  heroic  devo- 
tion to  humanity  and  country  than  in  that  city,  from  which 
the  greater  number  of  the  inhabitants  had  fled  in  terror, 
•d  the  presence  of  the  migratory  hordes  who  brought 
pestilence  with  them  in  their  march.  The  Irish  of  the 
town  stood  their  ground  bravely  ;  and  not  only  were  theii* 
houses  thrown  open  to  their  afflicted  countrypeople,  and 
their  moans  placed  unreservedly  at  their  disposal,  but  they 
tended  the  sick  and  dying,  and  ministered  to  them  in  the 


I 


4 
i 

.1 

J 

■4 


150 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


holioBt  spirit  of  chanty.  Anioiif^  the  best  and  bravest  of 
those  who  succoured  the  plnguo-siiiitteii  of  that  droatlful 
time,  were  three  Irish  Prv)tcstarils — Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  then 
Mayor  of  Kiiig'stoii,  Akleriiiau  Ilobert  Augliii,  and  IMr. 
WilUani  Ford,  afterwards  IMayor — who  were  m  the  sheds 
both  day  and  night,  and  by  their  ceaseless  efforts  to  rehevo 
the  sufferers,  inspired  others  with  increased  courage  and 
still  greater  self-devotion. 

Father  Dollard,  an  Irish  clergyman,"  had  to  bear  the 
chief  share  of  the  priestly  duty  ;  and  from  the  first  mo- 
ment that  the  fever  brt)ke  out,  until  the  earth  was  beat- 
en down  on  tlie  top  of  the  grave-mound,  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  danger.  So  shocking  was  the  condition  in 
which  the  unhappy  people  reached  Kingston,  the  last 
resting-place  of  many  of  them,  that  the  clergymen,  three 
at  the  most,  had  to  change  their  own  clothes  repeatedly 
in  the  day.  One  of  the  three  priests,  wdio  had  beiju  only 
just  ordained,  died  of  the  contagion. 

AVhen  the  plague  abated,  and  the  danger  no  longer 
cidsted,  the  inhal)itants  returned  ;  and  now  there  began 
an  unseemly  scramble  for  the  orphan  children  of  the 
Catholic  parents  who  slept  beneath  the  mound  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Hospital.  The  Irish  Catholics  of  the  sur- 
rounding locality  strained  every  resource  in  order  to  affi^rd 
a  home  to  the  orphans  of  their  native  country  and  religion, 
and  through  their  charity  the  greater  number  of  them 
were  well  provided  for  ;  but  others  of  a  different  faith  se- 
cured a  certain  proportion  of  the  children,  who  are  now 
perhaps  bitter  opponents  of  the  creed  of  their  fathers. 

The  same  scenes  of  suffering  and  death  were  to  bo 
witnesse<l  in  the  city  of  Toronto,  as  in  the  other  cities 
of  Canada  during  those  memorable  years,  1847  and  1818. 
Sheds  were  constructed,  and  hearses  and  dead-carts  were 
in  hourly  refpiisition.  The  panic  was  universal ;  but  tlio 
humane  and  high-spirited,  of  all  denominations,  did  their 
duty  manfully.     Two  and  three  coffins  were  constantly  to 


bravest  of 
at  d road  I'll  1 
itrick,  tlion 
L,  and  IMr. 
.  the  sliodn 
nS  to  relievo 
jurage  and 

)   bear   the 
0  first  nio- 
was  beat- 
was  in  the 
jndition  in 
1,   the   last 
men,  three 
repeatedly 
been  only 

no  longer 
icre  began 
en  of  the 
nd  in  the 
)f  the  sur- 
ir  to  afford 
d  religion, 
r  of  them 
it  faith  se- 


o  are  now 
thers. 
'^ere  to  be 
tlier   cities 

and  1818. 
carts  wore 

;  but  tlio 
,  did  their 
istantly  to 


AN  ILLUSTIUOUS  VICTIM  IN  TORONTO. 


151 


be  seen  on  the  hearse  or  waggon  usedii^r  bearing  the  dead 
to  the  grave-pit  outside  the  toAvn.  One  day  \ho  horse 
dniwing  this  hearse  got  restive,  and,  breaking  from  his 
conductor,  upset  the  three  coffins,  which,  falling  into  pieces, 
literally  gave  up  their  dead.  This  occurred  near  the 
IVIarket  Scpiare,  about  the  most  public  thoroughfare  in 
Toronto,  and  at  once  a  crowd  assembled,  horror-stricken 
but  fascinated  by  the  awful  spectacle.  Every  effort  was 
made  to  repair  as  speedily  as  possible  the  momentary  dis- 
aster ;  but  it  was  some  time  before  the  three  wasted  Ijodies 
of  the  poor  Irisli  could  be  liidden  from  sight.  The  priests, 
as  m  all  similar  cases,  were  ceaselessly  at  work,  with  the 
usual  result— the  sacrifice  of  several  of  their  number. 

Among   the   losses  which    the   Catholic  Church  had  to 
dei)lore  during  this  crisis,  was  that  of  a  venerable  Irish- 
man, Dr.  Power,  Bishop  of  Toronto.     He  was  implored  by 
his  people  not  to  expose  a  hfe  so  valuable  to  his  fiock ;  but 
he  replied,  that  where  the  souls  of  Christians,  and  these  the 
natives  of  his  own  country,  were  in  peril,  it  was  his  duty  to 
be  there.     '  My  good  priests  are  down  in  sickness,  and  the 
duty  devolves  on  me.     The  poor  souls  are  going  to  heaven, 
and  I  will  do  aU  I  can  to  assist  them,'  said  the  Bishop! 
And  in   spite   of    the   most   earnest    and   affectionate  re- 
monstrance, he  persevered  in  performing  the  same  labours 
as  the  youngest  of  his  priests.     The  Bishop  prepared  for 
his  post  of  danger  by  making  his  will,  and  appointing  an 
administrator.     The  letters  of  administration  were  lengthy, 
and  of  much  impoi  tance,  embracing  necessarily  the  finan- 
cial and  other  concerns  of  the  diocese.      This  document, 
most  precious    from    its    association   with    the   voluntary 
martyrdom  of  the  venerable  Prelate,  is  preserved  among 
the   episcopal   archives   of  Toronto.      It   was  commenced 
with  a  bold  firm  hand  ;  but  as  it  proceeded  amid  frequent 
interruptions— his  visits  to  console  the  dying  being  their 
chief  cause  — the  writing  became   more  and   more  feeble, 
until  one  might  mjirk,  in  the  faint  and  trembHng  characters 


1 


4 
1 

J 

4 


$1 


152 


THE  IRISH  IN  AM'-TJCA. 


of  the  coiicludiiipf  linos,  flio  near  approach  of  death,  wliich 
soou  conKigiied  him  to  tho  tomb,  another  martyr  to  duty. 
Barcily,  if  ever,  has  a  hir^^er  funeral  procession  been  seen 
in  Toronto,  and  never  has  there  been  a  more  universal 
manifestation  of  public  sorrow  than  was  witnessed  on 
that  mournful  occasion.  Every  place  of  business  in  the 
streets  through  which  the  pro(!ession  passed  was  closed, 
and  Protestant  vied  with  Cathohc  in  doing  honour  to  the 
memory  of  a  holy  and  brave-hearted  prelate. 

Partridge  Island,  ojiposite  the  city  of  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick,  was  the  scene  of  more  horrors,  more  destruc- 
tion of  human  life.  In  fact,  wherever  an  emigrant  ship 
touched  the  shores  of  the  British  Provinces,  or  sailed  into 
their  rivers,  there  is  the  same  awful  carnage  to  be  re- 
ctsrded. 

A  portion  of  the  survivors  pushed  on  to  the  West,  their 
march  still  tracked  by  fever,  and  marked  by  new-made 
graves.  The  majority  stopped  at  various  places  on  the 
way,  or  spread  ovei*  Central  and  AVostern  Canada,  many 
settling  on  Crown  lands  placed  at  their  disposal  by  the 
Government,  but  others  hiring  themselves  as  farm  la" 
bourers,  not  having,  im  yet,  the  energy  to  face  the  forest, 
and  engage  in  a  struggle  ."or  which  disease  and  sorrow  had 
rendered  them  for  a  time  unequsil.  But  in  half  a  dozen 
years  after  might  be  seen,  along  the  shores  of  the  lakes, 
and  on  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  and  their  tributaries, 
prosperous  settlements  of  those  fever-hunted  exiles,  who, 
flying  in  terror  from  their  own  country,  carried  plague 
and  desolation  with  them  to  the  country  of  their  adoption. 
It  was  remarked  of  them  that,  though  they  bravely  rallied, 
and  set  about  their  work  as  settlers  with  an  energy  almost 
desperate,  many  seemed  to  be  prematurely  old,  and  broke 
down  after  some  years  of  ceasolcss  toil;  but  not  before 
they  liad  achieved  the  great  object  of  their  ambition- 
made  a  nome  and  realised  a  ^^roperty  for  those  who,  with 


now  THE  IRISH  PUSHED  ON. 


168 


oatli,  which 
:yr  to  duty. 
I  been  seen 
e  iTTiivcrsal 
tiiessod  on 
loss  in  the 
vvfis  closed, 
nour  to  the 

John,  New 
)re  dcstruc- 
gi'iint  ship 
sailed  into 

to  bo  re- 
West,  their 

new-made 
cos  on  the 
lada,  many 
sal  by  the 
-s  farm  la- 
the forest, 
sorrow  had 
ilf  a  dozen 

the  lakes, 
tributaries, 
(xiles,  who, 
ied  plague 
r  adoption, 
rely  rallied, 
!rgy  almost 
and  broke 
not  before 
ambition — • 

who,  with 


thfem,  survived  the  hoiTors  of  the  pasftago,  and  the  havoc  of 
the  quarantin(!  and  the  fever-shed. 

Ev(!n  to  tliis  day  the  terror  inspired  in  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants  through  whose  districts  the  Irish  emigrants 
passed  in  the  terrible  years  of  1847  and  1818,  has  not  died 
out.  I  Avas  told  of  one  instance  where,  little  more  than  a 
year  since,  whole  villages  were  scared  at  tl  nnouncement, 
happily  untrue,  that  'the  poor  Irish  were  coming,  and  were 
bringing  the  fever  with  them.'  It  was  scarcely  a  subject  for  • 
the  pleasantry  of  the  wag. 

As  explorers  and  pioneers,  the  Irish  have  been  as  ad 
venturous   and   sTU'C(!ssful   as  any  others   in   Canada.     As 
lumlKirmen,  they  have  pushed  far  in  advance  of  the  foot- 
steps of  civiHsation.     Twenty-five  years  since  they  were  to 
be   found   in    the   forests  along   the;  banks  of  the  Moira, 
Ayhich  empties  itself  into  the  Bay  of  (^Juhite,  cutting  down 
the  great  trees,  'making   timber,'  then  guiding   it   down 
the   rapids,  and  bringing  it   to  (Quebec.     And  among  the 
most  fearless  and  daring,  as  well  as  skilful,  of  the  navi- 
gators of  the  tremendous  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence  are 
the  Irish.     The  Canadian,  though  dexterous  with  the  axe, 
is  occasionally  rather  apt  to  depend  on  his  prayers  in  a  mo- 
ment of  emergency;   whereas  the   Irishman,  who,  to    say 
the  least,  is  fully  as  pious   as   the  Canadian,  acts  on  the 
wise  belief  that  Providence  helps  those  who   help  them- 
'  selves.     At   the   head  of  the  Ottawa,  which   is  the   great 
lumbering   centre  of   Canada,   the   Irish   have   principally     ' 
settled  the  town  of  Pembroke,  in  which  reside  many  who, 
once  enterprising  lumbermen  and  bold  raftsmen,  arc  now 
living  at  their  ease,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  hard-earned 
wesdtli.      There  is  one  in  particular,  who  went  miles  up 
the  river  beyond  Pembroke,  and  brought  his  family  into 
the  almost  impenetrable  forest.     Twenty  years  ago  he  w^as 
a   raftsman,   earning   IG   dollars  a  month,  and  he  is   now 
one  of  the  richest  men  on  the  river.     Witliin  tw^elve  miles 
of  Pembroke,  at  Fort  WilHam,  a  station  belonging  to  tho    r/ 


v^ 


i 

i 


4 
i 


164 


Till-:  Ilil.SlI  IN  AMERICA. 


Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  keenest  compotiiors  with  the 
Company  in  the  purcliaso  of  fur,s  arc  Irishmen.  Following 
up  the  Ottawa,  to  French  lliver,  Avhich  (Mni)tics  itst^f  into 
Lake  Huron,  along-  that  river,  and  the  small  tributaries 
of  the  Ottawa,  are  to  be  found  thriving  Irish  settlements 
of  not  more  than  six  years  date.  In  fact,  the  Irish  have 
penetrated  everywhere,  and  have  proved  themselves  bold 
and  self-reliant,  and,  even  perhaps  in  a  greater  degree 
than  the  other  nationalities,  have  displayed  the  most  won- 
derful faculty  of  adapting  themsc^lves  to  every  possible 
circumstance.  This  faculty,  whether  of  adapting  them- 
selves to  natural  circumstances  or  to  pohtical  institutions, 
si^ecially  distinguishes  the  Irish  race. 


Throughout  the  cities  and  towns  of  Upper  Canada  the 
Irish  hold  an  eminent  position  in  every  profession,  and  in 
every  department  and  branch  of  industry;  and  in  the 
professions,  as  in  mercantile  life,  the  Catholics  already  en- 
joy a  fair  share,  especially  when  their  former  poverty  and 
religious  faith  are  taken  into  account.  Indeed,  considering 
the  circumstances  under  which  so  many  of  the  Catholic 
Irish  of  the  towns  emigrated  to  Canada,  not  only  with 
little  means,  and  feAV  friends  to  help  them,  but  with  all 
manner  of  prejudice  arrayed  against  them,  they  have  done 
more  and  succeeded  better  than  those  of  any  other  creed 
or  nationality.  Tnoy  have  done  more  in  a  shorter  time, 
and  in  the  face  of  an  opposition  which  neither  the  English 
nor  Scotch,  nor  their  Protestant  brethren  knew  anythino-  of. 
There  is  not  a  town  in  Canada  in  wliich  there  are  not  to 
be  witnessed  instances,  equally  striking  and  honot^^-able,  of 
the  progress  of  young  Irishmen,  who,  bringing  out  with 
them  a  few  pounds  at  most,  but  more  probably  a  lYnv 
shillings,  are  now  extensive  traders,  enterprising  manufac- 
turers, and  large  employers.     It  is  not  necessary  to  par- 


I 


IN  THE  CITIES  OF  UPPER  CANADA. 


m 


1  with  the 

itsolf  into 
tributiiries 
lottlomoiitH 
Irish  have 
lolvoa  bold 
ter  decree 
most  won- 
y  possible 
iig  them- 
Lstitutions, 


anada  the 
511,  and  in 
id  in  the 
Iready  en- 
)verty  and 
iiisidering 
!  Catholic 
only  with 
t  with  all 
have  done 
her  crcod 
rter  time, 
le  Eng'lish 
ly thing  of. 
ire  not  to 
uvablc,  of 

out  with 
bly  a  fovv' 

maiiiifac- 
y  to  par- 


ticularise by  individual  cases  ;  but  were  it  right  to  mention 
places  and  persons,  I  could  give  a  long  list  of  the  most 
gratifying  instiinces  of  the  results  of  unaided  industry 
and  unb(,'fri(indcd  energy.  I  was  much  struck,  when  wall> 
ing  with  a  friend  through  a  city  in  Western  Canada,  at 
observing  the  iine  ranges  of  buildings  for  commerciju 
purposes  recently  erected,  or  being  then  put  up,  by 
Catholic  Irishmen,  with  whose  history  I  was  made  ac- 
quaint(Hl.  To  hidustry,  integrity,  and  sheer  mother  wit, 
they — not  a  few  of  them  poor  but  intelligent  lads,  who  came 
out  to  seek  their  fortunes — owed  everything  ;  to  human 
favour  or  patronage  they  were  not  indebted  to  the  value 
of  a  shilling.  One  of  these  Irishmen  had  studded  the 
country  with  young  traders,  whom  he  estaljlished  in  va- 
rious directio]is,  and  nearly  all  of  whom  were  prospering. 
Another  was  then  on  his  way  to  Europe  to  purchase  his 
goods  direct  from  the  manufacturers,  instead  of  buying 
them  through  Canadian  houses  ;  and  his  calculation  was, 
that  he  would  save  from  1,5001.  to  2,000/.  a  year  by  adopt- 
ing this  plan.  When  he  landed  in  Canada  he  was  not 
master  of  twenty  dollars  in  the  world.  This  is  what  I  saw 
in  a  single  city,  and  that  by  no  means  the  most  extensive 
in  either  business  or  population. 

There  are  new  generations  of  Irishmen  rising  up  every 
day  in  Canada,  the  sons  of  men  of  humble  origin  or  modest 
beginning,  who,  having  pushed  their  way  successfully 
in  their  new  home,  sent  theii-  boys  to  college,  and  '  made 
gentlemen  of  them.'  As  lawyers,  doctors,  engineers, 
architects,  these  young  men  are  bringing  to  the  va- 
rious professions  the  sturdy  energy  of  the  class  from 
which  they  sprang,  and  are  vindicating  by  their  ability 
and  their  genius  the  intellectual  prestige  of  their  race. 
The. well-authenticated  stories  told  of  the  fathers  of  younp 
men  whom  I  saw  dressed  with  all  the  elegance  indicative 
of  wealth  and  good  position,  and  whose  manners  corres- 
ponded Avitii  their  external     appearance,    sounded  hke  a 


.>HmRY 


I 

) 


i 


4 

i 


166 


THE  Ilirsir  IN  AMERICA. 


llow  those 


romance,  tlioy  wnro  so  iiiavvcllon! 
era  crosHinl  Urn  Mhmiw  in  n  tinil)or  nliip,  tuul  li'iulcd  por< 
haps  at  Qm)\n\G  or  St.  Joliii,  witli  s(\'irt!oly  ciioufijli  to  sup- 
poi-t   fhoni   for   a    w(!('k  ;    liow   thoy  rci.sohitoly   turned    to 
the  tirst  work  tliJit  oirorcd,  caring--  little  for  hardship  or 
dnidotuy  ;  how  they  noviu-  looked  hack,  hut  ever  onwards  ; 
how  at  lengtli  money  sc'enud  to  grow  under  their  toudi, 
until    they    accunudatod    property,   built    mansions,    pos- 
Bcssed  horses  and  carriages,  hvcd  in  splendour,  and  care- 
fully fitted  theii-  children,  by  education  and  training,  for 
the  positi(ni  th(>y  were  to  occupy,  as   the   gentry  of  the 
country  !     But  in  their  histories  we  le.'irn,  that  these  self- 
made  Irishmen,  these    sucfiessful    founders  of  prosperous 
famili(^s,  tlie.  <!r(>ators  of  all  this  prosperity  and  spl(>ndour, 
never  clouded  their   bright   Celtic   intelle<'t,   or  brutalised 
their  genial  and  kindly  natiu-c,  with  drink.     Not  that  they 
totally  abstained  from  the  use  of  stinndants,  i)erhaps  few  of 
them  did  ;  but  they  were  *  sober,  well-conducted  men.' 

*As  a  ride,'  said  a  well-informed  friend,  *  till  within  tlio 
last  ten  or  twelve  years,  few  Irish  Catholics  of  respectable 
position,  or  with  even  moderate  means,  immigrated  to 
Cana(hi.  Under  these  circumstances  it  tells  favourably  for 
the  country,  for  the  government  and  the  laws  of  Canada, 
and  for  the  enterprise,  industry,  and  perseverance  of  our 
people,  that  so  many  are  independent,  and  that  the  vast 
majority  enjoy  all  the  coml\)rts  and  many  of  the  luxuries 
of  hfe. 

The  educational  system  of  Upper  Canada  is  in  every  way 
calculated  to  develop  the  intelligence  and  stimulate  the 
energies  of  the  rising  youth  of  the  country.  The  teaching 
is  practical  and  comprehensive,  and  the  administration 
appears  to  bo,  so  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  just  and  impar- 
tial. The  superior  colleges  of  Canada  turn  out  as  highly 
cultivated  young  men  as  are  to  lic  found  in  any  part  of 
America,  or  in  the  oldest  universities  of  Europe.  And  in 
every  educational  institution— from  the  university  of  Toronto, 


TIIR  KDUCATION  S  VST  KM. 


107 


in  wliicli,  iintler  the  pr^'sidency  of  a  clistinj^nilsliod  Irisliman, 
I  witiiosHed  Irirtli  Ht,ii(l(>utH  Ix'aiiiirr  oil'  several  of  the  lii..|i('st 
prizes  of  the  year,  to  thq  ]iuiiil)l(!st  villa^'e  school  ilirou^h- 
out  British  America  and  the  United  States— the  bi-i^ditiicsa 
of  the  Irish  iiiteUect  is  remarkable  ;  indeed,  it  ^  a  subject 
of  uuiversal  observation  in  all  parts  of  America. 

The  facihties   whidi    the   public   school   laws   of   Upper 
Canada  otl'er  to  the  Catholics  for  obtaining,'  elementary  edu- 
cation strictly  denominational,  may  be  thus  briefly  stated  :_ 
Two  or  more  Catholic  heads  of  families,  by  givin^r  notice 
(with  a  view  to  exemption  from  the  pubHc  rtite)  to  certain 
local  oflfi('(n-s,  may  claini  the  right  to  estal)lish  a  school  of 
their  own,  and  elect  their  own  trustees  for  its  management. 
The  supporters  of  this  school  are  not  only  exempt  from  the 
payment  of  a,    rates  for  th<'  support  of  the  pul^lio  schools, 
but  the  law  guarantees  to  them  the  right  to  share,  half- 
yearly,  in  the  legislative  grant,  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  children  they  may  educate.      They  also  receive  an  equal 
amount  to  whatever   sum    they  send  to  the  Government 
department    of    Education,   for    the    purchase    of    maps, 
globes,    school-prizes,    and   library  books.      These   library 
books    are    selected  by  a  Council,  of  wliich   the   Catholic 
Bishop  of  Toronto  is  a  member.     Many  of  the  books  are 
exclusively  Catliolic   in    their  character,   and   the  trustees 
have   the   right  to   select   only  such  books   as   they  may 
prefer.     The  schools  are,  of  course,  subject  to  oiiicial  in- 
spection, and  are  required  to  report  to  the  department; 
which    is    only  right    and  fair,    considering    they  receive 
assistance  from  the  State,  througli  ofiicials  responsible  for 
the  proper   administration   of  the   public    money.     Ev(>i-y 
Catholic  school  may  claim  an  area  of  country  for  its  sup- 
porters of    six  miles    in   diameter,  or    eightc  on    miles   in 
eircumference— that  is,  three   miles  in   all  directions  from 
its  school-house,  as  a  central  point.      All  supporters  of  the 
school   within   that   area   are   exempt  from  public   school 
taxation.     Here  is  the  practical  admission  of  a  just  prin- 


1 


3 

■■■■* 


168 


TllK  IIIISII  IN  AMERICA. 


ciple—refipect   for   con.scirntiouH    convictions  in   ii   mattei 
nii.st  vitally  airecti)i«^  the  intiu-CHts  of  nianldnd. 


There  is  a  Hhudow,  a  dark  shadow,  in  this  bri^dit  picture 
of  prosperity  and  pi-oo-ross— the  spirit  of  bi-otry— the 
spirit  of  unnatural  hate.  It  is  expressed  in  one  pregnant 
word— Ori.n;(eiHni.  Pity  indeed  that  it  should  exist  in  tliat 
land  of  free  institutions  and  good  laws.  Pity  that  it  should 
mar  its  peace,  or  rcitard  its  progress.  Pity  that,  from  any 
reason,  motive,  or  object,  it  should  be  encouraged,  by  any 
class.  Pity  that  it  is  not  trampled  inexoraWy  under  foot, 
not  by  harsh  enactment,  but  by  the  good  sense  and  right 
feeling  of  the  wise  and  the  patriotic,  acting  on  the  pubhc 
mind  of  the  Protestant  portion  of  the  community.  Its 
iuHuenco  is  felt  in  every  department  of  public  and  jjrivato 
life,  if  not  In' all,  at  least  in  too  many  districts  of  Upper 
Canada.  Its  baneful  i)resenco  is  perceptible;  in  the  heart  of 
the  country  as  in  the  city  and  the  town.  I  laujw  that  many 
good  and  cnhghtencd  Protestant  Iri^;hmen — men  who  are 
staunch  to  their  faith,  for  which  they  woukl  face  any  <Tan- 
ger  or  endure  any  sacrifice — deplore  the  existence  of  this 
one  of  the  deadly  curses  of  our  Irish  people,  and  do  all  they 
possibly  can  to  neutralise  its  vemom,  and  counteract  its 
evil  inlluence.  I  beheve  it  to  be  a  barrier  to  the  progress 
— the  more  rapid  progress — of  Canada  ;  it  not  only  checks 


emigration,  but    it    also   induces 


migration 


it  2^revents 


many  from  coming,  and — often  unconsciously — it  inqjels 
many  to  leave.  What  Canada  recpiircs,  in  order  to  realise 
the  hopes  of  her  statesmen  and  her  patriots,  is  more  men 
and  women,  more  miUions — not  of  the  kid-glove  schocl, 
but  of  the  strong,  the  vigorous,  and  the  resolute — of  tlu- 
same  class  as  those  who  have  reclaimed  her  wastes,  built 
up  her  cities,  and  constructed  her  highways — those  sons 
and  daughters  of  toil,  without  whose  fructifying  labour 
there  can  be  no  progress,  no  civilisation.  Undoubtedly 
gieat  and  prosperous  as  is  this  sturdiest  of  the  offspring  of 


IX   maitei 


^'•lit  pic'tiiro 
^^otry — tlio 
3  pro^iiiint 
xist  ill  that 
it  it  Hlioiild 
b,  fi'oni  any 
^ed  by  any 
nidcr  foot, 

and  rio'lit 
ilic  public 
inity.  IIm 
Liid  j)iivato 

of  Upi^er 
lio  heart  of 
that  many 
311  who  aiG 
J  any  dan- 
ace  of  this 
do  all  they 
keract  its 
e  progress 
nly  checks 
t  prevents 
-it  impels 
L'  to  realise 
more  men 
VG  scliocl, 
te — of  tlu- 
istes,  built 
;hose  sons 
ng  labour 
doubt  cdly 
ftspring  of 


THE  rOISON  OF  OKANGKISM. 


169 


the  mother  country,  she  requires  some  additional  millions 
of  human   beings   ero   she   expands  in  reahty  to  the  full 
measure  of  her  new-coined  designation— the  Dominion  of 
Canada.     And  it  is  neither  wise  nor  patriotic,  in  any  class 
or  section  of   the  population,  from  any  motive  or   object 
whatever,  to  foster  or  encourage,  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
body  pohtic,  a  source  of  evil  which  bears  sulliciently  bitter 
fruit  at  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  and  at  both  sides  of 
the  Boyne— but  which,  l)y  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Ottawa,  should  bo  doomed  to  wither  beneath  pub- 
lic contempt.     Though  the  hearts  of  Irishmen  hi  the  New 
World    instinctively    turn    to   each    otlier,    this   pestilent 
Orange  virus  keeps  them  apart.     There  is  tlieir  old  country, 
which  they  love  in  coinnK)n,  witli  which  their  fondest  and 
dearest  memories  are  associated ;   but  this  evil  thing  is  so 
vicious,  so  full  of  rancour,  that  it  poisons  the  very  foun- 
tains of  patriotic  emotions,  and  stimulates  to  hatred  rather 
than  to  love.     Under  ordinary  circumstances,  when  there  is 
nothing  to  give  life  to  this  Orange  feeling,  the  Irish  Uve  in 
harmony  together.     They  are  friends  and  neighbom-s,  and 
would  willingly  assist  each  other  in  jidversity  or  distress. 
The  families  visit  and  blend  together;   the  young  people 
grow  up  in  companionship,  most  likely  in  friendship ;  the 
old  people  gad  and  gossip  together ;  births  and  marriages 
and  deaths  are  matters  of   common  interest— nay,  not  a 
sorrow  or  pain  is  felt  in  one  home  but  excites  compassion 
and  sympathy  in  the  other.     But,  lo !    as  the  period  of  the 
Orange  festival  approaches— as  one  of  those  anniversaries 
of  past  strife,  of  battles  fought  nearly  two  hundred  years 
ago  in  Ireland,  comes  round— then  a  cloud  seems  to  groAv 
and  gather  on  the  brow,  and  a  strange  transformation  takes 
place  :    the  open-hearted,  kindly  neighbour  of  yesterday  is 
not  to  be  recognised  in  that  downcast,  sullen  fellow,  who 
meets  the  Catholic  with  a  scoavI,  if  not  a  curse  ;  and  iu  his 
wife,  or  daughter,  or  sister,  who  hurries  past  the  house  of 
tlie  Catholic  as  if  there  %vere  contagion  in  its  door-posts, 


n 
.') 

k 
■■li 

i 

'4 


IGO 


THE  IlilSII  IN  AMERICA. 


one  finds  it  Ijjird  to  trace  a  lik(viic8H  to  the  /gonial  matron 
wlio  so  aj^reoably  discussed  the  iiaiucloss  trillcs  that  coiisti- 
tiile  the  theme  of  iVicndly  j^ossip,  or  ilie  pheasant  damsel 
whos(5  laug-Iiter  made  music  in  the  family  circki.  AVhen 
the  day  of  ceh^bration  does  come,  the  Catholic  had  better 
avoid  his  Orano-e  neif-hbonr— for  quarrels,  blows,  bloodshcid, 
may  possibly  come  t)f  their  meeting ;  and  if  so,  alas !  deeper 
hate  and  greater  scandal— sadder  sh'».me  to  those  who  bear 
an  Irish,  name.  Possibly  the  crisis  passes  without  collision 
or  disturbance.  Happy  for  idl  if  it  be  so ;  and  in  a  few 
days  after,  not  however  without  some  i)reliminary  sliame- 
faciedness,  the  fornu>r  relations  are  re-established,  and  aU 
goes  on  as  before — until  the  accursed  anniversary  again 
darkens  the  brow  and  (ills  the  heart  with  hate.  Terrible,  if 
not  before  man,  certainly  in  the  eyes  of  God,  is  the  re- 
sponsibility of  those  who  keep  alive  the  memories  of  strife 
and  contention  which  should  be  left  to  slumber  in  the  grave 
of  the  past. 

Canada  has  a  splendid  future  before  her,  whatever  may 
be  her  form  of  government,  or  whatever  the  relations 
which,  in  the  course  of  lime,  she  may  bear  to  the  nK)thcr 
country,  or  to  her  neighbour  the  United  States.  Slie 
abounds  hi  natural  resources.  jNEillions  and  millions  of 
acres  of  good  land  are  yet  unoccupied,  more  are  still  unex- 
plored ;  and  such  is  her  mineral  wc^alth,  that  a  vast  pojmla- 
tion  should  be  employed  in  its  development.  Thus,  with  land 
almost  unlimited  in  extent,  mines  of  unquestionable  pro- 
ductiveness, and  capabilities  within  hersc^K  for  almost  every 
description  of  manufacturing  industry,  what  does  Canada 
require  in  order  to  be  really  gi-eat,  but  population~?/i()/v; 
vii//iimi<  of  men  and  icomcn?  But  she  must  rid  herself 
of  this  Orange  pestikmce  ;  for  though  she  pays  her  workers 
liberally,  and  in  hard  silver,  which  knows  no  depreciatiim ; 
and  though  ihoy  live  well,  taxation  being  small  and  prices 
of  all  necessaries  being  nunlerate,  still  their  tendency  in 
towards  the  other  side  of  the  La]l:cs  and  the  St.  Lawrence. 


THE  ONLY  DKAWBACK. 


161 


lial  matron 
Ihat  coiisti- 
>ant  (ljii)i,s(!l 
(^\v.     AVliou 

had  better 
,  bloodshed, 
las!  deeper 
50  who  bear 
)ut  collision 
d  in  a  few 
ary  shame- 
ed,  and  all 
'sary  again 
Terrible,  if 

is  the  re- 
es  of  strife 
n  the  {j^ravo 

atever  may 
0  relations 
the  mother 
atos.  She 
millions  of 
'  still  nnex- 
ast  po})nla- 
s,  with  land 
)nable  pro- 
Imost  every 
)es  Canada 
-tion — more 
rid  herself 
or  workers 
preciation ; 
and  prices 
endencv  ia 
Lawrence. 


I  have  met  and  spoken  with  too  many  of  my  Catholic 
conntrymen  in  Canada  not  to  know  that  this  Orange  feel- 
ing is  a  cause  of  more  than  dissatisfaction— even  of  Inrkin^v 
discontent  :  it  is  the  one  thing  which,  reviving  the  recol- 
lections of  old  persecution,  makes  the  Catholic  Irishman 
think  less  fondly  of  the  homo  of  his  adoption  ;  it  is  hke- 
wise,  I  believe,  one  of  the  causes  which  for  many  years  past 
has  diverted  emigration  i^ito  another  and  a  broader  chan- 
nel. For  Catholics,  I  can  say  their  dearest  wish  is  to  live 
in  amity  with  their  Protestant  neighbours.  They  admit  and 
feel  that  the  laws  aro  just  and  good,  that  the  Government 
is  wise  and  paternal,  that  the  institutions  aro  favourable  to 
the  fullest  hberty  ;  therefore  the  more  do  they  deplore  tho 
existence  of  an  organisation  which  keeps  aHve  an  evil  feel- 
ing that  is  neither  suited  to  a  Christian  people  nor  favour- 
able to  the  fuller  development  of  a  youthful  State.  I  write 
this  in  the  warmest  interest  in  a  country  to  which  so  many 
of  my  own  people  have  directed  their  wandering  footsteps, 
and  where  so  many  of  them  have  won  an  honourable  inde- 
pendence by  the  exercise  of  the  noblest  quaUties. 


1 


i 


1C2 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NewfoundlaiKl  — Monstrous  Policy— Bad  Times  for  tlie  Irish 
Piipists— How  the  Bishop  saved  the  Colony— The  Cathedral  of 
M.  John's— Evil  of  havin<r  but  one  Pursuit— Useful  Elforts— The 
Plao-iieofDojrs— Proposal  to  exterminate  the  '  Noble  Newfound- 
land —Wise  Legislation— Reckless  Improvidence— Kindly  Rela- 
tions—Irish Girls. 


THERE  is  not  within  tlie  circle  of  the  British  Empire  a 
more  interesting  colony  than  Newfoundland,  or  whose 
inhabitants  have  had  to  strug-gie  against  a  more  stupid 
and  perverse  poKcy  than  that  dehberately  adopted  towards 
it  by  the  Home  Government,  and  faithfully  enforced  by  its 
willing  representatives.  The  policy  of  this  day  is  to  stud 
the  earth  with  vigorous  offshoots  from  the  parent  stock, 
and  foster  them  into  sturdy  gp-owth  by  the  gift  of  free  in- 
stitutions ;  and  the  natural  result  of  a  policy  so  wise  and 
enlightened  is  this— that  there  being  no  wrongs  to  avenge, 
no  bitter  memories  to  cherish,  no  galHng  restrictions  to 
chafe  or  irritate  the  public  mind,  the  colony  cheerfully 
bears  the  hght  yoke  of  loyalty  to  the  mother  country, 
whose  manufactures  it  consumes,  whose  commerce  it  ex- 
tends, whose  resources  it  developes,  and  whose  people  it 
enriches  and  employs.  But  the  policy  pursued  towards 
Newfoundland  was  the  very  opposite  to  everything  wise  and 
enlightened.  To  say  that  it  was  discouraging  would  not 
express  its  character  in  adequate  terms  :  it  was  rather  re- 
pressive, if  not  actually  crushing.  The  absurd  idea  of  the 
wiseacres  of  that  day  was  to  malce  of  Newfoundland  a 
mere  fishing-station,  and  of  St.  John's  a  landing  place.  By 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht  the  British  obtained  the  island  from 


NEWFOUNDLAND-MONSTROUS  POLICY. 


163 


tho  Freucli  in  1713.  \Ylieii  tlie  island  tlius  camo  into 
possession  of  its  new  masters,  it  contained  a  not  inconsi- 
derable Frencli  iioi^nlation,  to  wliom  freedom  of  worship 
had  been  guaranteed  by  treaty  'as  far  as  the  laws  of  England 
permitted;'  and  so  successfully  did  the  Governor  of  the 
day  take  advantage  of  this  dangerous  proviso,  that  the  dis- 
gusted French  Catholics  and  their  clergy  sold  their  property 
and  '  abandoned '  the  questionable  protection  of  the  con- 
querors. The  French  Catholics  having  been  effectually 
god  rid  of,  their  Irish  brethren  bec;ime  the  objects  of  spe- 
cial proscription.  The  following  order  was  issued  by 
several  Governors  down  to  so  late  as  17G5.  It  shows  the 
spirit  against  which       ^  Irish  CathoHc  had  to  contend  : 

For  the  better  preserving  tlie  peace,  preventing  robberies,  tnniiiltiious 
assemblies,  and  otlier  disorders  of  wicked  and  idle  people  remaining  in 
the  coiuUry  during  the  winter,  Ordered— 

Tliat  no  Papist  servant,  man  or  v/oman,  sliall  reniain  at  any  place 
where  they  did  not  fi:<h  or  serve  dnring  tlie  snmmer. 

That  not  more  tlian  two  Papist  men  shall  dwell  in  one  hoivse  during 
the  winter,  except  such  as  have  Protestant  masters. 

That  no  Papist  shall  keep  a  public-house,  or  sell  liquor  by  retail. 

That  the  masters  of  Irish  servants  do  pay  for  their  passage  home. 

Another  order,  addressed  to  the  magistrates  about  this 
time,  exhibits  the  fierce  spirit  of  persecution  in  a  manner 
stiU  more  striking. 

Whereas  you  have  represented  to  mc  that  an  Irish  Papist,  a  servant,  a 
man  without  wife  or  family,  has  put  i-p  mark  posts  in  a  fishing-room 
within  your  district,  with  an  intent  to  build  a  stake  and  flakes  thereon, 
and  i)ossess  the  same  as  his  right  and  property,  which  practice  being 
entirely  repugnant  to  the  Act  10  and  11  Wm.  III. 

I  do  therefore  authorise  you  to  immediately  cause  the  post  mark-^ 
abovementioned  to  be  taken  down,  and  warn  the  person  so  offending 
not  to  presume  to  mark  out  any  vacant  fishing-room  again  as  his  pr.^- 
pt.ty,  as  he  will  answer  tho  contrary  at  his  peril.  You  are  also  to  warn 
other  Papists  from  offending  in  the  like  case,  as  they  will  answer  to 
the  contrary. 

Signed)  T.  Byuox  Governor. 


^ 


f9 


■^ 


J 


I 


164 


Tni<]  iiirsii  IN  AMi':iiiCA. 


J5iit  Put  was  irropr(>ssibl(i.  Ho  would  comci  hikI  roniiiin, 
uiul  ])r()spor  io(\  iioiwilhsimuliii^^  that,  lie  wik  I'uliuijiiit.cd 
af^aiiist  in  onhvr  and  pi'oclaiiiatioii,  and  tlioii^li  the  focuii- 
(Uty  of  lii.s  viU'.o  was  oflicially  dcplonul  as  a  jj^roat  and  oiri- 
])an-as.sin«jf  (>vil.  'V\h)  i'jict  was,  th(>  Irish  wcu'c  hard-worlviuir 
and  useful,  and  those  who  ai)pre('iat(>d  th(>ir  value  encou- 
va^-ed  their  coniino-  and  remaining,  des])it,e  of  Governor, 
and  Fishino-  Adiuiral,  and  ffonic  (lov(!rnnient.  AVisdom 
slowly  dawned  on  the  beni«^ht(Hl  aut]ioriti(\s,  who  AV(>re  com- 
pelled lo  tolerate  what  lliey  could  not  prevent.  ]>ut  such 
was  the  stat(^  of  t  hiiif;s  in  tho  ci)h)ny  for  a  kvng  series  of 
years,  and  actually  wilhiji  the  memory  of  Hvin<^Mnen,  that 
a  house  could  not  he  ]>ut  up,  or  {^veu  tlioi-ou^-hly  repaired, 
without  the  sanction  pf  the  (lovernor !  The  wonder  shonld 
not  be  why  Newfoundland  has  not  made  niort^  rapid  stridea 
than  it  has,  but  that  it  has  pro<>rt\ssed  so  rapidly  as  it  has 
done.  Mjet  no  on(>  blanu>  Newfoundland,  tluMi,' says  Dr. 
Mulloclc,*  '  for  not  having  hith(>rto  advanced  as  rapidly  as 
other  colonies.  I  boldly  ass(n't  that  ther<^  was  never  moro 
energy  shown  by  any  people  than  by  the  inhabitants  of 
this  island.  Tlu^  Govei'nni(>nt  that  should  h^ster  them  eon- 
siden  d  them  intruders,  and  banislu^l  tlu>m  when  it  could.' 
The  gifted  J^relatc;  thus  completes  the  picture  : 

They  had  not  llic  lilx'rty  of  llic  birds  oC  (lu>  air  to  hiiild  or  repair 
llu'ir  nosts— tlu'v  had  bidiiad  tlicin  tho  t'oiw^i  or  th<'  rocI<y  soil,  which 
thoy  wore  not  allowed,  without  lieeiise  dillieultly  ohtaijied.  to  reclaim 
and  till.  Thoir  only  rosource  was  the  slonny  ocean,  and  they  saw 
tlu'  wt>allh  they  won  IVoni  tiie  deep  spent  in  other  lamls.  leavinj?  them 
only  a  scanty  suhsistence.  Despite  of  all  tirs  they  have  increased 
twenty-fold  in  ninety  years,  have  built  towns  and  villa.ycs.  erected 
nia.uniliccnt  bnildin.ns.  as  the  cathedral  in  St.  Jtdui's,  introduced  tele- 
•ivaphs.  slcrtin.  postal,  and  road  conminniciilitnis,  newspapers,  everv- 
Ihiuix.  ill  tact,  t'oiiud  in  tiie  most  civilised  countries,  anil  all  this  on' a 
ru.L:<;-ed  soil,  in  a  harsh  thou.nh  wliolesonie  climate,  and  luul.'r  every 
ppeoies  ol' di.scoura<;ement. 

*  Two  Lectures  on  NowCoi.ndland.  delivered  at  .^t  Bonaveidure's  Cnl- 
lege,  Jimiiary  2^  av.:]  February  1,  1S60,  by  the  Righ*  Kev.  Dr.  Mullock. 


Tul  ronmin, 
riiliuijiiiied 
ilu!  foe n li- 
lt and  (nri- 
•(l-\V()rl<iii<j;' 
\no,  ciicou- 
(l()V(n']ioT, 
AVisdom 
were  coin- 
But  .siicli 
'^  acrioH  of 
men,  ihiit 
Y  ropairod, 
ilor  .slionld 
[)id  .stridofl 
iy  as  it  has 
,'  says  Dr. 
rapidly  as 
over  nioro 
bitants  of 
ilioni  (!on- 
1  it  could.' 


1<1  or  repair 
y  soil,  wliii'li 
,  to  reclaim 
1(1  they  siiw 
I'aviiiu;  llioin 
0  iiuTcascd 
u;o.s.  orcclcil 
xliiood  (clo- 
icrs.  cvory- 
1!  this  oil  a 
iiiil"r  ovory 

M.tinv's  Col- 
.  Mullock. 


BAD  TIMES  FOR  THE  IRISH  TAPISTS. 


1G5 


Wo  havo  soon  that  tho  *  Irish  Papist '  coTild  not  1)g  dis- 
coura^^cid  out  of  tho  country,  in  which  ho  was  not  wiihout 
tho  ministration  of  iho  priest,  who  thoun-h  ho  had  no  lived 
abode  in  tlio  Island,  usually  canio  out  in  a  iishin<,'-l)oat,  and 
S()  diguised  as  to  osca])o  tho  vi«>ilanc(!  of  tho  hostile  author- 
ities. Protestants  suilerod  from  no  such  disadvanta-'o. 
Tlieir's  was  the  roco«>-nis"d  religion  of  the  State,  and  its 
ministers  wore  stationed  ai  tho  principal  settlements.  This 
indeed  was  the  state  of  thino-s  throuohout  the  continent  of 
Anu!i-ica,  wherever,  in  fact,  the  Jiritisli  po\v(.'r  was  vocog- 
nised.  CatholicH  wcn'o  unchu-  a  ban,  hunted,  persecnited,  or 
}>Tievousiy  discouraj^-ed,  while  Prot(!stants  enjoyed  in  its 
fidness  the  advanta^-es  of  a  protected  church  and  a  dcmii- 
uant  relio-ion.  This  shoidd  be  always  t:ii:en  into  considera- 
tion when  (istimatino-  the  progress  of  those  who  were  guilty, 
Ml  tho  eyes  of  tluur  jealous  rulers,  of  the  double  ollc'iico  of 
))eing  Catholic  and  Irish. 

In  tlu!  year  of  grac^o  1784  liberty  of  conscience  was  pro- 
claimed in  Novvfoundland,  and  the  Catholics  at  once  took 
advantage  of  tho  boon.  In  that  year  the  Eev.  James 
0'Donn(!]l,  '  the  founder  and  father  of  the  church  of  New- 
foundland,' land  d  ^  X  the  island.  A  native  of  Tipp(>rary,  ho 
had  spent  a  large  portion  of  his  life  in  the  Irish  Pranciscan 
Convcmt  of  Prague,  in  Bohemia,  and  afterwards  presided 
over  tho  convent  of  his  order  in  AVaterford,  and  subse- 
qutaitly  as  the  provincial  of  the  order  in  Ireland.  He  was 
the  first  regularly  authorised  missioner  in  Newfoundland 
since  it  had  been  ceded  to  the  British  hi  1718  ;  and  to  his 
wisdom,  lirmness  and  sagacity  are  due  the  practical  settle- 
ment of  the  Irish  in  that  colony.  The  following  document 
ly  I'.iler  a  strange  commentary  on  tho  proclamation  of 
hbef  ty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of .  worship  of  six  years 
before.  It  was  written  by  Governor  Milbank,  in  answer  t(3 
an  ap]>hcati(m  by  Dr.  O'DonneU  for  leave  to  build  a  chapel 
in  one  of  the  out-ports  : —  , 


■3 

id 

2 


166 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICxV. 


The  Governor  acquaints  Mr.  O'DonnoU  that,  so  far  from  being  dis- 
posed to  allow  of  an   increase    of  places  of  religious  worsliip  for   tl.o 
Roman  Catholics  of  the  island,  he  very  seriously  inlends,  next  year,  tohnj 
those  estahUshed  already,  under  particular  restrictions,     lAIr.  O'Donuell- 
must  be  aware  that   il  is  not  the  interest  of  Great  Britain  to  encourage 
people  to  winter  m  A'ewfoundland,  and  he  cannot  be  ignorant  that  many 
of  the  lower  order  who  would  now  stay,  xoould,  if  it  loere  not  for  the  con- 
vemence  loith  which  they  ohtaiti  absolution  here,  go  home  for  it  at  least  once 
intu-.y  or  three  years;  and  the  Governor  has  been  misinformed  if  Mr. 
O'Donnell.  instead  of  advising  their  return  to  Ireland,  does  not  rather 
encourage  them  to  winter  in  this  country. 
On  board  the  Salisbury,  St.  John's.    Nov.  2,  1790. 

AVliat  a  proclamation  of  intolerance  and  stupidity !  We 
doubt  if,  considering  the  period  at  Avliicii  tlie  world  liad 
arrived,  there  was  ever  penned  a  more  discreditable  epistle. 
We  shall  now  see  how  this  cruel  mistrust  was  repaid  by  the 
distinguished  minister  of  religion  who  was  its  object. 

It   was  in  the  year  1799,   shortly  after   the   memorable 
Irish   Rebellion,   that    the    circumstance    occurred  which 
exhibited  in  tlie  most  conspicuous  manner  the  value  of  the 
influence  and  authority  of  a  zealous  and  courageous  pastor, 
and  the  wisdom  of  encouraging,  rather  than  discoimtenanc' 
ing,  the  presence  of  a  Catholic  clergyman  in  the  midst  of 
an  Irish  population.     Many  who  had  been  compelled  to 
fly  from  their  native  land  in  consequence  of  the  rising  of 
1798,  found  refuge  in  Newfoundland,  bringing  with  tlem 
the   exasperated  feehngs   engendered   by  that    disastrous 
corflict ;  nor  was  the  state  of  things  in  the  colony  such  as 
to  soothe  tlie  bitter  hatred  which  they  cherished  in  their 
hearts.     Amongst  them  a  conspiracy  was  formed,  its  object 
being  the  destruction  of  the  Protestant  colonists  ;  and  such 
w\as  the  success  with  which  the  conspirators  pushed  their 
machinations,    and  they  secured  the   sympathv  and   pro- 
mised   co-operation   of   a   large   portion   of  tlie   regiment 
then  stationed  in  St.  John's.     Their  plans  were  laid  with 
great  secrecy  and  .skill,  and   the   day   was   appointed   for 
carrying  their    fatal   designs  into    execution.       The  time 


\Ali 


HOW  THE  BISHOP  SAVED  THE  COLONY. 


167 


)m  being  dis- 
(I'sliip  lor  tlio 
ea'/  year,  to  lay 
Ir.  O'Doniiell- 
<  to  encourage 
lit  that  nuiny 
otfor  the  con- 
'  at  least  once 
Di'ined  if  Mr. 
es  not  ralbcr 


dity!  We 
world  had 
ble  ejiistle. 
>aid  by  the 
ect. 

nemorable 
■ed  whicb 
.lue  of  tlio 
niH  pastor, 
'untenanc- 
i  midst  of 
ipelled  to 
rising  of 
vitli  tliem 
disastrous 
•■J  svcli  as 
I  in  their 
its  object 
and  such 
hed  their 
and   pro- 
reg-iment 
laid  with 
inted   for 
The  time 


chosen  was  when  the  people  had  assembled  at  church,  and 
it  not  being  then   the  custom  for   the   military  to   carry 
.  arms  into  the  sacred  building,  it  was  considered  by  the 
conspirators  that  those  who  would  thus  go  unarmed  could 
not  oiler  much  difficulty  in  the  execution   of  the  fearful 
plot.      Had   the   intended  rising   taken   place,,  the   conse- 
quences  would   have   been   awful;    but  happily,    through 
the  vigilance  and  prudence  of  Bishop  O'Donnell— he  had 
been   appointed  Vicar  Apostolic  in  1794— the   conspiracy 
was  defeated      Having   been  apprised  of  what  was   con- 
templated, he  at  once  informed  the  General  in  command 
of   the  danger   impending,  urging  him  to  deal  with   the 
soldiers,   and  undertaking  himself  to  deal  with   the  mis- 
guided civihans  who  had  been  involved  in  the  guilty  pro- 
ject.     The  necessary  steps  wore  taken,  the  contemplated 
rising  was  effectually  prevented,   and  Newfoundland  was 
saved  from  a  scene  of  horror  and  bloodshed  that  would  have 
formed  a  dark  blot  on  the  page  of  its  history.     The  Protes- 
tants regarding  Bishop  O'Donnell  as  their  preserver,  under 
Providence,  naturaUy  felt  towards  that  prelate  an  intense 
feehng  of  gratitude  ;  and  the  British  Government,  whose 
representative  but  nine  years  before  wrote  him  the  miser- 
able letter  jusl  quoted,  recognised  his  great  services  by  a 
pension— a  very  smtill  one  it  is  true— which  was  continued 
to  his  successors  for  some  time.     '  How  often,'  remarks  the 
friend  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  recollection  of  this 
important  incident  in  the  life  of  the  good  Bishop,  'have 
the   clergy  of  the   Cathohc   Church,   as  in   this   instance, 
heaped  coals  of  fire  on  the  heads  of  their  opponents,  and 
rebuked  the  blind  intolerance  of  the  persecutors  of  their 
faith  ! ' 

The  days  of  systematic  discouragement  had  passed  for 
ever.  'The  English  Government,'  says  Dr.  Mullock, 
'tacitly  recognised  the  population  of  Newfoundland  as 
having  a  right  to  hve  in  the  land  they  had  chosen.'  But 
there  was  hard  work  iu  store  for  the  zealous  missionary  ; 


1 


IfiS 


TllK  lUiSII  IN  AMKIUCA. 


and,  iiulccd,  it  rcMpiircMl  all  tlio  cJlbrlM  of  ilio  luiiiLstora  of 
religion,  Proti^Hfunfc  and  Caiholic,  io  dxiirpaio  ilio  poison 
of  iiilid(>lily  which  llio  \Vi)rk.s  of  Paini;,  ilicu  ('xtcnsivcly 
circulalcd  and  rcMid,  had  spread  throu^^h  the  colony.  T\w 
niission  wan  a  laborious  and  a  rud(!  one  at  host  ;  and  in 
1h(>  s(>vcnticth  year  of  his  a^^e  ])r.  O'Doiinell  r(\si<^-ned  his 
eharj^-e  to  ])r.  Lambert,  and  s»)n};ht  repose  in  his  native 
land,  wliero  he  died  four  years  afterwards,  and  was  buried 
in  the  i)arish  chapel  of  Olonniol.  Drs.  Scallan  and  Fleni- 
niinnf  succeeded  Dr.  Tjanib(>rt,  and  preceded  i\w,  pn^sent 
Jiishop,  ]>r.  iMulloclc,  a  man  o(  <^Teat  enerf»'y  of  character, 
iii^lily  cultival(>d  mind,  intense  zeal  for  the  promotion  of 
reli<^ion  and  education,  and  ardently  devoted  to  the  mate- 
rial projL>ress  of  his  ]>eople.  There  is  now  a  second  bishop 
in  the  island.  Dr.  Dallon,  whose  cathedral  is  at  ITarb 


our 


^irace. 


The  population  bein-jf  chielly  en}j;a<jfed  in  the  lisherieR, 
are  necessarily  scattvrcul  n\ou<y  the  sea  coast.     The  labours 


of   th 


itly 


di 


they 


nnssionaries  are  cons»Hpieniiy  very  arduous, 
beinft-  oftini  compelled  to  travel  by  water  in  small  boats  at 
the  most  inclenuMit  seasons  ;  while  in  many  parts  of  the 
islan<1,  owinj^-  (o  the  imperfect  nature  of  the  roads,  land 
travel  imposes  on  piviestly  zeal  i)enalties  no  less  severe. 
Still,  so  or(>;tt  iuid  increasing  are  the  elTorts  made  by  the 
clergy,  that  thert^  are  few  of  their  tlock  beyond  the  reach 
of  lluMr  ministrations.  The  dcvotcdness  of  the  pastors 
is  thoroughly  responded  to  by  the  iidelity  of  their  flocks. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  in  no  part  of  the  world 
is  th(M-e  a  more  complete  luuon  of  clergy  and  people  than 
exists  b(>tweon  the  Catholic  people  and  clergy  of  New:- 
foundland.  If  we  consider  the  vast  undertakings  which 
liave  been  bi'ought  to  a  successful  termination  by  a  Catho- 
lic population  not  much  exceeding  00,000  souls  in  all,  wo 
cannot  but  be  surprised  at  the  wonderful  libcrahty  and  zeal 
of  the  people,  and  at  the  influence  exercised  over  them  bv 
the  Bishop  and  his  clergy.     The  value  of  the  church  pro- 


t'l 


THE  CATIIKDIIAL  OF  ST.  JOHN'S. 


niiiLsiors  of 

th(5  poison 

oxtciisivcly 

i)lony.     Tlio 

[)Ht  ;  HI  1(1  ill 

•()si<^iu!(l  liin 

I  liis  iiiitivo 

Wiis  buried 

!lll(l    FlciU- 

iho  2)roHoiit 
f  cliiir.'ictor, 
omotion  of 
)  the  luiito- 
'ond  bishop 
lit  Iljirbour 

10  iislioric^R, 
Cho  liibonra 
hious,  they 
ill  l)oiits  at 
larts  of  the 
roiids,  land 
loss  sovoro. 
ado  by  the 
I  the  roach 
the  pastors 
heir  Hocks. 
:  the  world 
icople  than 
;y  of  Nos- 
ings which 
)y  a  Catho- 
s  in  all,  wo 
ity  and  zeal 
?r  them  by 
:?hurch  j)ro- 


169 


perty,  including  cllur(;h(^s,  j)arocliial   rosidonccs,  convents 
Ac,  is  httlG   short  of  20(),()0()/.     In   St.    John's   alono  the 
value  of  tlioir  property  is  ostiniatod  at  over  150.000/.     In 
this  is  inchidcd   the   cost   of    the   cathedral,    one  of    the 
noblest  structures  to  be  found   at  tlio  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.     To  raise  this  maguillcront  temple,  the  generous 
colonists  Hul)scribod  the  enormous  sum  of  120,000/.     AVere 
Governor  Milbank  -cw  in  the  ilesh,  and  were  he  to  stand 
on  tho  lloor  of  tliat  groat  cathedral,  glance  up  to  its  lofty 
roof,  cast  his  eyes  round  at  tho   beautiful  works   of  art 
brought  from  tho  most  famous  studios  of  Rcino,  and  then 
romember  his  famous  hotter   to    Dr.  0'.DonneU~so  coolly 
msolent  and   so   hauglitily  contemptuous—he   might   weU 
fool    ashamed    of    himself,    and    the    Government   whoso 
miserable  policy  he  represented  ;  and  also  loarn  how  im- 
possible it  is  to  destroy  a  living  faith,  or  crush  a  genuine 
race.     It  was  only  fifty  years  after  that  letter  was  written 
that  the   idea   of  erecting  this  stupendous  cathedral  was 
conceived  by  the  Bishop  of  that  day,  the  Right  Rev    Dr 
riemmmg.      Few  save  the  Bishop  himself  darod  to  hopo 
that  any  one  then  living  w.mld  ever  worship  within  its 
Avails  ;  but,  strange  to  say,  from  tho  commencement  of  the 
work  Its   progress  was   never   interrupted  from  want  of 
funds,  and  in  the  comparatively  short  space  of  ten  years  it 
AA-as  so  far  advanced  as  to  admit  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  being 
offered  up  under  its  roof.     Dr.  Fleinming  lived  long  enough 
to  see  aU  doubts  removed-not  from  his  mind,  for  he  never 
entertained  one  on  the  subject-as  to  the  ultimate  accom- 
phshment  of  his  object ;  and  in  leaving  the  completion  of 
the  great  work  to  his  successor,  he  knew  that  in  the  piety 
and  indomitable  zeal  of  Dr.  MuUock  there  was  the  best 
gliarantee  for  its   speedy  and  splendid  completion.     Dr 
MuUock  received  it  a  mere  sheU-a  magnificent  exterior 
It  IS  true,  but  nothing  more  ;  everything  within  remained 
to  be  done.     Taking  hold  of  the  work,  as  it  were,  with  a 
'^^n^r  nana  ana  a  determined  will,  Bishop  Mullock  wont 


i 


^i. 


I 


*■■».>"**' 


170 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


V 


forward  with  such  vigour,  that  in  the  yoar  1855  its  com- 
ph^tion  was  inaugurated  by  a  solemn  cuUHecration,  at  which 
several  of  the  most  eminent  prelates  of  the  Amei.  m 
church  were  presout.  The  Bishop  not  only  completed  thin 
gi-and  edifice,  but,  in  the  true  ('athohc  spirit,  he  enriched 
it  with  the  choicest  works  of  art,  rightly  thinking  that 
the  efforts  of  human  g(  nius  <  -nnot  bo  more  fittingly  em- 
ployed than  in  doing  honour  to  the  Creator  of  man— tlie 
Author  of  his  power,  and  strength,  and  genius  ;  and  that 
by  the  aid  of  the  productions  of  the  painter  and  the  sculp- 
tor the  mind  may  be  Hfted,  or  assisted  to  rise,  above  the 
worldly  cares  and  vulgar  thoughts  which  ai  •)  too  often 
brought  to  the  very  porch  of  the  temple. 

Within  the  area  of  the  ample  space  on  which  the  cathe- 
dral stands,  are  erected  the  Presentation  Coiivent  and  the 
schools  attached,  the  Orphanage,  the  Convent  of  Mercy, 
the  College  of  St.  Bonavonture,  and  the  Episcopal  Palace 
— aU  worthy  of  being  associated  with  the  noble  structure 
which  is  the  centre  of  the  whole.  These  institutions,  now 
entirely  free  from  debt,  have  been  erected  during  the 
spiritual  rule  of  Dr.  Mullock,  who  thus  completed  the 
great  design  of  which  the  cathedral  was  only  the  practical 
commencement. 

At  River  Head  another  imposing  church,  only  second  in 
grandeur  to  the  cathedral  of  St.  John's,  is  now  in  progress 
of  erection  ;  and  at  Harbour  Grace,  Dr.  Dalton  is  engaged 
in  the  serious  undertaking  of  enlargmg  his  cathedral,  which 
has  long  since  been  too  small  for  his  increasing  congrega- 
tion. In  his  diocese,  and  with  smaller  resources,  and  a 
more  limited  field  of  action,  this  zealous  prelate  is  rivaUing 
the  successful  energy  of  his  disti.>guished  brother  of  8t. 
John's.  Besides  the  two  convents  in  the  capital,  there  are 
twelve  branch  houses  in  other  parts  of  ^he  island,  and  these 
are  in  a  great  degree  devoted  to  the  training  of  the  female 
children  of  the  Catholic  population.  The  Catholics  of  St. 
John's  have  no  educational  grievance  to  complain  of.     Tho 


1855  its  COD 
tion,  at  wliif'h 
lio  Ai^ei:  !n 
3iiipletod  tl'i.s 
b,  he  onriclietl 
thinkiiif,'  tli.it 
i  fittingly  eni- 
of  man — tlie 
IS  ;  and  that 
tid  the  sculp- 
se,  above  the 
ro.  too  often 

ch  the  catue- 
vent  and  the 
lit  of  Mercy, 
copal  Palace 
ble  structure 
itutions,  now 
during  the 
mpleted  the 
the  practical 

ily  second  in 
V  in  progress 
1  is  engaged 
ledral,  which 
ig  congrega- 
irces,  and  a 
0  is  rivalling 
■other  of  St. 
ial,  there  are 
id,  and  thcfie 
f  the  female 
liolics  of  St. 
ain  of.     Tho 


EVIL  OF  HAVING  BUT  ONE  PURSUIT.  lyj 

principle  on  which  the  .ystem  is  based  is  that  of  allowing, 
to  each  rehgious  denomination  the  education  of  its  ow2 
youth-an  arrangement  which  marvellously  simplifies  rna^- 
t  IS  and  removes  every  possible  excuse  fur  mischievous 
mcddhng.  or  coU.s.on  of  any  Idnd.     More  than  one  hundred 

no  College  o    St.  Bonaventuro,  such  as  to  prepare  them  to 

-.nntam  an  honourable  position  in   the  various  walkn  of 

<>i;/vhich  they  may   l,e    destined;    and  in    the   same 

institution  the  candidates  for  holy  orders  are  prepared  Ibr 

the  priesthood,  the  design  of  the  bishop  being  t^.  recruit 

he  ranks  of  the  clergy  from  amongst  the  nativtof  the 
:^2^L     ^^-^^^^^^therto  supplied  all  the  priests  for 

The  zeal  and  fidelity  of  the  Irish  Cathohcs  of  Newfound- 
rth^  be  estimated  by  the  great  things  they  have  dcme 
foi  ther  church,  notwithstanding  limited  resources  and 
oii^nal  discouragement.  Whenever  a  great  work  is  to  be 
done,  every  one  assists  according  to  his  means  ;  and  where 
money,  cannot   be  subscribed,  the  full  equivalent  is  freely 

Zl^r'i  "^^  ^'^'"''  ^"  «->^-onghly  identified  are 
the  people  ^v;lth  the  cause  to  be  promoted,  that  in  a  whole 
parish  a  single  defaulter  is  rarely  to  be  met  with !     But  if 

us2r  'l  "ff '"  ^"^'^^  *"  "^^^^^  ^''^  ^^  ---  of  those 
use  ul  uncertakmgs  m  .vhich  he  is  so  constantly  engaged 

he  WH  IS  thefi..t  to  afford  a  signal  example  ^  I^Z 
i^ility    having  contributed  the   munificent  sum  of  10  000/ 
motion         '''''"  ^'^«^^^-cc«  towards  the  works  of  his'pro- 

Perhaps  the    great    evil  of   the    colony   is   the    almost 
exclusive  devotion  of  its  inhabitants  fn  fl.f 
nnv^nif      c     1  ;,    innaoitants  to  the  one  engrossing 

"ot  t  71  V^'  ""''''''''  ""''  prosperous  the  evU 

sno    so  manifest;  but  should  this  grand  resource  of  the 

tl^  II  mediate  conseq  there  being  httle  else  to  faU 

back  upon.     What  agricultm-e  is  to  Ii-eland,  the  fisheries 


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172 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA 


are  to  Newfoundland ;  and  wliilo  Ireland  requires  the 
extension  of  manufacturing  industry  on  a  large  scale,  not 
only  as  a  means  of  constant  employment,  but  as  a  resource 
in  case  of  failure  of  crojos,  Newfoundland  lias  equal  need 
of  the  cultivation  of  its  soil  as  a  certain  source  of  pros- 
perity, as  well  as  a  means  of  compensating  for  the  casual 
falling  off  in  the  staple  industry  of  the  colony.  The 
number  exclusively  engaged  in  agriculture  is  small,  and  is 
principally  confined  to  residents  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
St.  John's ;  not  that  the  land  in  that  vicinity  is  better  than 
elsewhere,  but  that  a  valuable  market  is  at  hand  for  the 
consumption  of  every  kind  of  animal  and  vegetable  pro- 
duce. It  is  found  that  a  judicious  combination  of  fishing 
with  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  best  rewards  the  labourer ; 
and  efforts  are  now  being  made  to  induce  the  people  to  give 
more  attention  to  the  latter  pursuit.  A  whole  family  can 
seldom  find  full  employment  in  connection  with  the  fishery, 
and  one  of  the  advantages  of  the  other  mode  of  occupation 
is  that  it  provides  employment  for  labour  that  would  other- 
wise be  waste.  The  importance  of  cultivating  the  soil  was 
never  fuUy  estimated  until  in  1847  the  mysterious  potato 
disease  appeared  in  Newfoundland,  as  it  did  in  so  many 
regions  of  the  earth.  The  distress  caused  by  this  event 
showed  how  valuable  had  been  that  fruitful  crop,  for  which 
the  nature  of  the  soil  seems  peculiarly  adapted.  So  viru- 
lent was  the  disease  in  the  year  mentioned,  that  it  appears 
to  have  left  its  sting  ever  since ;  for  blight,  or  partial  failure, 
has  been  of  frequent  occurrence  since  then,  and  even  as  late 
as  the  season  of  186G  it  assumed  a  marked  character.  Good 
oats  and  barley  are  raised  in  the  island,  but  they  are  not 
cultivated  to  the  extent  they  might  be.  In  fact,  farming 
in  Newfoundland  is  still  in  a  primitive  state,  few  per- 
sons being  regularly  devoted  to  it  as  a  profession,  it  being 
regarded  rather  as  a  useful  auxiliary  to  the  great  staple 
industry  of  the  inhabitanis,  than  as  a  valuable  source  of 
general   wealth.      The    Government  fully   appreciate    the 


USEFUL  EFFORTS— THE  PLAGUE  OF  DOGS. 


173 


eqiiires  the 
;e  scale,  not 
s  a  resource 

eq^^al  need 
rce  of  pros- 
:  the  casual 
lony.  The 
imall,  and  is 
30urhood  of 

better  than 
and  for  the 
>etable  pro- 
n  of  fishing 
le  labourer ; 
jople  to  give 
3  family  can 

the  fishery, 
'  occupation 
t'onld  other- 
the  soil  was 
dous  potato 
in  so  many 
'■  this  event 
p,  for  which 
I.  So  viru- 
t  it  appears 
irtial  failure, 
even  as  late 
icter.  Good 
jhey  are  not 
ict,  farming 
e,  few  per- 
ion,  it  being 
>Teat  staple 
e  source  of 
ireciate    the 


importance  of  encouraging  the  people  to  adopt  the  culti- 
vation  of    the  land  as  a  fixed  and  settled  pursuit.     In 
former  times  it  was  difficult  to  obiain  a  Hcence  from  the 
Governor  of  the  day  to  till  any  portion  of  the  soil :  but  in 
1866  an  Act  was  passed  offering  to  the  poor  cultivator  a 
bonus  of  eight  dollars  for  every  acre  up  to  six  acres  cleared 
and  fitted  for  crops,  besides  a  free  grant  of  the  land  itself. 
As  thousands  of  acres,  suited  for  cultivation,  may  be  had 
in  various  parts  of  the  island,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
liberal  policy  of  the  Colonial  Government  may  be  crowned 
with   success.     Fisheries,   however  bountiful,  or  even  in- 
exhaustible,  are,   fi'om  natural  causes  altogether  beyond 
the  control  of  man,  necessarily  more  or  less  precarious; 
and  it  is  wise  statesmanship  as  well  as  true  patriotism  to 
try  and  lay  the  foundation  of  a  great  branch  of  industry 
which,  while  adding  to  the  wealth  of  the  community,  may 
form  the  best  resource  against  unexpected  calamity. 

Efforts  are  also  made  to  encourage  the  breeding  of 
sheep,  for  which  the  climate  and  soil  seem  eminently 
suited.  The  attention  of  the  Agricultural  Society  is  being 
devoted  to  the  subject,  and  with  some  success.  But  Bishop 
Mullock  insists  thaji  unless  relentless  war  be  waged  against 
the  dogs  of  the  colony,  sheep-farming  will  be  a  matter  of 
impossibility.  To  destroy,  at  one  fell  swoop,  the  noble 
breed  of  dogs  which  have  done  much  to  make  Newfound- 
land known  to  the  world— to  annihilate  the  splendid  brute 
so  remarkable  for  courage,  sagacity,  and  fidehty— may 
appear  to  be  a  proposal  worthy  of  a  Draco,  and  might  well 
stimulate  the  indignant  genius  of  the  poets  of  the  universe  ; 
but  the  Bishop  makes  out  a  strong  case,  which  he  may  be 
allowed  to  put  in  his  own  words  : — 

We  have,  says  Dr.  Mullock,  the  means  of  raising  on  our  wild  pastures 
millions  of  that  most  useful  animal  to  man— the  sheep.  On  the 
Bouthern  and  western  sho'-e,  indeed  everywhere  in  the  island,  i  have 
seen  the  finest  sheep  walks ;  and  what  is  better,,  the  droppings  of  the 
sheep  ia  this  country  induce  a  most  luxuriant  crop  of  white  clover, 


]> 
J 


■■,•!»    ■ 

i 


■■i 
i 


Vi 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


and  prevent  the  spread  of  bog  plants.    If  sheep  were  encouraged,  we 
sboiild  have  fresh  meat  in  abundance,   and  their  fleece  would  furnish 
warm   clothing  in  the  winter  for  our  people,  of  a  better  quality  than 
the    stuff   they   now   buy,   'half  waddy   and   devil's  dust,'    and   which 
Impoverishes   them   to   procure  it.     Domestic   manufactures   would   be 
encouraged,   the  people   would    become    industrious  and  comfortable, 
and  every  housewife  in  our  out-harbours  would  realise,  in  some  sort, 
that  sublime  description  of  a  valiant  woman  by  Solomon,  Prov.  xxx'u, 
'  she  hath  put  out  her  hands  to  strong  things,  and  her  fingers  have 
taken  hold   of  the   spindle  ;  she  has  sought  wool   and  flax  and  hath 
wrought  by  the  counsel  of  her  hands  ;  she  shall  not  fear  for  her  house 
in  the  cold  of  snow,  for  all  her  domestics  •  are  clothed  with  double 
garments ;   she  hath  looked   well   to  the   paths  of  her  house  and  hath 
not  eaten  her  bread  idle  ;  her  children  rose  up  and  called  her  blessed  ; 
her  husband  had  praised   her.'    But,  unfortunately,  this  great  blessing 
of  sheep  pasture  is  marred  by  one  curse,  and  idleness  and  poverty  are 
too   often   the  accompaniments  of  the  poor  man's  fireside  in  the  long 
winter— as  long  as  a  vicious  herd  of  dogs  are  allowed  to  be  kept  in  the 
country,  so  long  wUl  poverty  be  the  winter  portion  of  the  poor.    In  no 
other  part  of  the  world  would  such  an  iniquity  be  permitted.     There  is  a 
law  oft'ering  bl.  for  the  destruction  of  a  wolf,  and  I  never  have  heard 
of  51.  worth  of  mutton  being  destroyed  by   wolves  since  the  days  of 
Cabot;   but  why  do   not  our   legislators,   if  they   have   the   interest  of 
the  people  at  heart,  (and   according   to   their  election   speeches,  every 
member  is  actuated  by  the  most  philanthropic  and  patriotic  motives), 
pass  and  enforce  a  law  against  dogs,  which   devour   every  sheep   they 
can  find,  and  have  almost  exterminated  the  breed  altogether ;  for  na 
one  will  keep  sheep  while  his  neighbour  is  allowed  to  keep  icolves. 

Nor  are  the  Bishop's  reasons  for  thus  preaching  a  war  of 
extermination  exhausted  in  the  passage  quoted;  he  con- 
demns the  use  of  dogs  in  drawing  firewood,  the  dogs  being 
assisted  in  their  labour  by  stalwart  men  yoked  to  the  same 
car.  The  Bishop  wisely  remarks  that  one  horse  would  do 
the  work  of  one  hundred  dogs,  and  be  always  useful ;  and 
the  man  who  could  not  keep  a  horse,  might  hire  his 
neighbour's  for  a  few  days,  at  an  expense  far  less  than  what 
he  wastes  in  boots  and  clothes.  The  Bishop  apprehends 
that  his  rer>-.arks  may  prove  unpalatable ;  but  he  has  the 
interests  of  the  people  too  much  at  heart  to  conceal 
his  sentiments  on  a  subject  of  such  vital  importance  to 


WISE  LEGISLATION. 


175 


them,  and  he  asserts  that  'religion,  education,  civilization, 
are  all  suffering  from  this  curse  of  dogs,  worse  than  all  the 
plagues  of  Egypt  to  this  unfortunate  country.'  The  lec- 
tures from  which  these  strong  passages  are  quoted  were 
delivered  in  1860  ;  but  I  am  not  aware  how  far  he  was 
successful  in  turning  the  pubhc  sentiment  in  favour  of 
sheep  and  against  their  implacable  enemy,  'the  noble 
Newfoundland.'  The  reader  will  perceive  that  this  Irish 
Bishop  is  as  vigorous  as  a  reformer  of  abuse  and  promoter 
of  material  improvement,  as  he  is  energetic  as  a  founder  of 
rehgious  and  educational  institutions,  and  builder  of  cathe- 
drals. There  is  a  genuine  ring  in  this  comprehensive  coun- 
sel :  'My  earnest  advice  would  be,  kiU  the  dogs,  introduce 
settlers,  encourage  domestic  manufactures,  home-made 
linen  and  home-spun  cloth,  and  Newfoundland  will  be- 
come the  Paradise  of  the  working  man.' 

The  mineral  capabihties  of  the  country  are  now  -Hract- 
ing  attentioL.,  and  promise  to  prove  an  important  element 
in  its  resources.     A  mineralogical  survey,  instituted  by  the 
Government,  is  in  progress,  and  the  results  already  estab- 
hshed  justify  considerable  expectations.     A  copper  mine  is 
in  successful  operation  ;   and  besides  copper,  lead  f  ad  coals 
are  known  to  exist  in  several  parts  of  the  island.      The 
Government  afford  every  encouragement  to  mining  enter- 
prise.    For  a  fine  of  5Z.  any  one  may  obtain  a  hcence  of 
search  over  three  square  miles,  and  at  any  time  within  two 
years  he  can  select  from  the  tract  over  which  his  Hcence 
extends  one  square  mile,  for  which  he  becomes  entitled  to 
a  grant  in  fee,  the  only  further  charge  being  a  royalty  of 
2i  per  cent,  for  the  first  five  years'  working.     With  such 
hberal  terms  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  aided  by  the 
valuable  information  which  their  survey  is  hkely  to  diffuse, 
it  may  fairly  be  expected  that  the  latent  mineral  wealth  of 
Newfoundland  may  ere  long  afford  employment  to   many 
thousands  of  its  population. 
The  Irish  portion  of  the  colonists  are  not  in  any  respect 


1^ 


J 
i 


1 


176 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


inferior  to  tlieir  neighbours  of  other  nationahties.  Whether 
in  the  professions,  as  merchants  and  traders,  or  as  daring 
and  successful  fishermen,  they  enjoy  an  enviable  position, 
and  maintain  the  highest  character.  For  their  numbers  the 
Irish  men  of  business  represent  as  large  an  amount  of 
wealth  as  any  other  class  in  the  colony,  and  in  influence 
and  general  repute  they  are  not  second  to  those  with  whom 
they  are  associated.  In  the  Government  the  Catholic 
element  is  adequately  felt,  and  the  right  of  Catholics  to 
the  enjoyment  of  tlieir  legitimate  influence  is  not  ques- 
tioned even  by  the  most  extreme  of  their  opponents. 
'  They  have,'  says  a  distinguished  Catholic  la^^nan,  *  their 
full  measure  of  equal  privileges,  and  neither  their  country 
nor  their  creed  is  a  bar  to  advancement  in  any  of  the  walks 
of  life.' 

In  daring  and  energy  in  the  prosecution  of  their  adven- 
turous pursuit,  the  Irish  are  in  every  respect  equal  to  the 
other  fishermen  who  hunt  the  seal,  or  capture  the  cod  and 
ling  of  the  great  bonk.  Indeed  it  would  be  difficult  to  see 
anywhere  a  body  of  men  more  full  of  hfe,  vigour,  and 
intelligence,  than  may  be  found  issuing  from  the  Catholic 
catliedral  any  Sunday  in  those  portions  of  the  year  when 
the  fishermen  are  at  home.  There  is,  however,  one  thing 
to  be  regretted — that  the  money  so  gallantly  earned  is  not 
always  wisely  spent.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the 
nature  of  the  fisheries  is  such  as  to  leave  long  intervals  of 
unemployed  time  at  the  disposal  of  those  engaged  in  them, 
and  this  is  especially  felt  when  the  fisheries  are  unpro- 
ductive. In  prosperous  seasons  the  earnings  of  the  men 
are  sufficient  for  theu'  suppc  rt  for  the  year ;  but  this 
facihty  of  earning  money  has  its  disadyantages,  particu- 
larly in  inducing  a  spirit  of  recklessness  and  habits  of 
extravagance,  which  not  unfrequently  tend  to  much  misery. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  the  seal  fishery  for  a  man  to 
earn  20/.,  30Z.,  or  even  more,  in  a  month  or  five  weeks  ; 
but,  alas !  it  often  goes  as  rapidly  as  it  is  acquired.     This, 


RECKLESS  IMPROnDENCE-  KINDLY  RELATIONS.       177 


unfortunately  for  the  world  at  large,  is  a  common  result 
with  money  so  rapidly  earned  ;  but  in  Newfoundland  there 
is  the  superadded  evil  of  long  intervals  of  idleness,  during 
which  the  once  jovial  sinner  mourns,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes 
and  unavailing  repentance,  the  follies  of  his  prosperous 
hours.  The  Irish,  perhaps,  are  not  worse  than  others  in 
their  spirit  of  recklessness,  and  their  habits  of  baneful 
indulgence  ;  but  certainly  they  are  not  better  than  theii- 
neighbours  in  this  respect.  Social,  impulsive,  and  gener- 
ous, there  are  no  people  in  the  world,  Newfoundland  in- 
cluded, whom  self-restraint  would  benefit  more  than  those 
of  Irish  birth  or  origin. 

Even  so  far  back  as  the  commencement  of  the  century, 
the  Irish  merchants  had  taken  a  prominent  position  in  the 
colony;  and  \n  1806  the  Benevolent  Irish  Society  was 
formed— an  institution  which  had  for  its  object  the  relief 
of  the  distressed  without  any  distinction,  and  the  fostering 
of  national  feeling  and  spirit.  The  promoters  were  some 
of  the  foremost  men  in  the  colony,  Protestants  and  Catho- 
lics, between  whom  the  most  friendly  relations  existed ;  and 
the  meetings  and  proceedings  of  this  body  did  no  little  to 
influence  the  tone  and  temper  of  the  community  at  large. 
Its  annual  celebrations  of  St.  Patrick's  Day,  in  which  men 
of  all  creeds  and  countries  participated,  were  held  in  great 
esteem,  as  much  for  the  kindly  sentiments  they  encouraged, 
as  for  the  social  enjoyment  they  were  always  certain  to 
afford.  This 'society,  after  a  life  of  sixty  yeai-s,  is  still  in 
existence  ;  and  not  only  does  it  fulfil  its  mission  of  benevo- 
lence in  the  same  spirit  in  which  it  was  founded,  but  its 
annual  reunions  continue  to  be  an  agreeable  feature  in  the 
festivities  of  St..  John's. 

Newfoundland  may  look  in  vain  for  a  grievance;  but 
should  i^-  discover  one,  it  has  the  means  within  itself  of 
quickly  setting  it  at  rest.  Its  inhabitants  of  all  denomina- 
tions enjoy  in  unimpaired  fulness  the  blessings  of  civil 
and  rehgious  freedom  :  there  are  no  h  irassing  and  vexa- 


I 


178 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


tious  meddlings  with  education  ;  and  if  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  population  do  not  occupy  the  soil  by  the 
best  of  all  tenures,  the  fault  does  not  lie  with  those  who 
legislate  for  and  govern  them.  That  a  good  understanding 
between  all  classes  of  the  community  is  the  result  of  just 
laws  wisely  administered,  we  may  take  the  conclusive 
/idonce  of  Dr.  Mullock,  who  thus  bears  witness  to  its 
existence  : — 


Allow  mo  to  say  a  few  words  of  my  experience  of  the  people  :  I  have 
found  them,  in  all  parts  of  the  island,  hospitable,  generous,  and  obliging  ; 
Catholics  and  Protestants  live  together  in  the  greatest  harmony,  and  it  is 
only  in  print  we  find  anything,  except  on  extraordinary  occasions,  like 
disunion  among  them.  I  have  always,  in  the  most  Protest  nt  districts, 
experienced  kindness  and  consideration — I  speak  not  only  of  the  agents 
of  the  mercantile  houses,  who  are  remarkable  for  their  hospitality  and 
attention  to  all  visitors,  or  of  magistrates,  but  the  Protestant  fishermen 
were  always  ready  to  join  Catholics  in  manning  a  boat  when  I  required 
it,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  Catholics  have  acted  likewise  to  their 
clergymen.  It  is  a  pleasing  reflection  that  though  we  are  not  immacu- 
late, and  rum  sometimes  excites  to  evil,  still,  out  of  a  population  of  over 
130.000,  we  have  rarely  more  than  eight  or  ten  prisoners  in  gaol,  and 
grievous  crimes  are,  happily,  most  rare,  capital  offences  scarcely  heard  of. 

From  a  communication  which  I  have  received  from  an 
eminent  citizen  of  St.  John's,  to  whose  kindness  I  am  much 
indebted,  I  take  the  following  passage  : — 

'The  Irish  girls  "to  the  manner  born,"  are  almost  extinct  in  this 
island,  emigration  for  many  years  past  having  almost  entirely  ceased. 
But  the  Irish  of  native  grpwth  are,  as  a  class,  intelligent,  well-developed, 
and  industrious.  Immorality  is  rare  among  them,  as  may  be  shown  by  a 
record  of  last  year's  births  in  St.  John's,  from  which  it  appears  that  of  725 
births,  12  only  were  illegitimate,  or  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 
This,  too,  is  not  an  exceptional  year,  but  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  criterion 
of  the  morality  of  the  Irish  girls.  The  educational  labours  of  the  Nuns 
are  doing  much  to  preserve  the  virtue  of  the  female  youth  and  no- 
vvhere  are  these  holy  women  more  valued  than  here.' 


CHAPTER  X. 


1 


The  Irish  Exodus— Eirigration,  its  Danpora  hy  Sea  and  Land — 
Captain  and  Crew  well  matched— How  Things  were  done  Twenty 
Years  since— The  Emigration  Commission  and  its  Work— Land- 
sharks  and  their  Prey— Finding  Canal  Street  -A  Scotch  Victim 
— The  Sharks  and  Cormorants  — Bogus  Tickets — How  the  'Out- 
laws '  resinted  Reform— The  New  System— The  days  of  Bogus 
Tickets  gone  -A  Word  of  Advice— Working  of  the  Sys^om— In- 
telligence and  Labour  Department — Miss  Nightingale's  Opinion — 
Necessity  for  Constant  Vigilance— The  last  Case  one  of  the  Worst. 

INHERE  are  few  sadder  episodes  in  the  history  of  the 
world  than  the  story  of  the  Irish  Exodus.  Impelled, 
to  a  certain  dogr3e,  by  a  spirit  of  adventure,  but  mainly 
driven  from  their  native  land  by  the  operation  of  laws 
which,  if  not  opposed  to  the  genius  of  the  people,  were  un- 
suited  to  the  special  circumstances  of  their  country,  mil- 
hons  of  the  Irish  race  have  braved  the  dangers  of  an  un- 
known element,  and  faced  the  perils  of  a  new  existence, 
in  search  of  a  home  across  the  Al;lantic.  At  times,  this 
European  life-stream  flowed  towards  the  New  AVorld  in 
a  broad  and  steady  current ;  at  others,  it  assumed  the 
character  of  a  resistless  rush,  breaking  on  the  shores  of 
America  with  so  formidable  a  tide  as  to  baffle  every 
anticipation,  and  render  the  ordinary  means  of  humane  or 
sanitary  precaution  altogether  inadequate  and  unavaihng. 

Different  indeed,  in  most  of  its  features,  is  the  emigration 
of  to-day  from  that  of  thirty,  or  twenty,  or  even  a  dozen 
years  since.  A  quarter  of  a  century  since,  and  much  later 
still,  the  emigrant  seemed  marked  out,  as  it  were,  as  the 
legitimate  object  of  plunder  and  oppression  ;  and  were  not 
the  frauds  of  which  these  helpless  people  were  made  the 
constant  victims,  matters  of  public  record,  and  against 
which  legislatures  at  both  sides  of  the  ocean  struggled,  and 


t 

\>^:: 


180 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


for  a  time  ineffectually,  one  could  scarcely  credit  the  lengths 
to  which  those  who  li\ed  upon  plunder  carried  their  au- 
dacity. Little  did  the  intending,'  emigrants  know  of  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  that  lay  in  their  path  in  every 
stage  of  their  momentous  journey  by  land  and  water,  by 
city  and  by  sea.  Little  knew  the  poor  mother,  as  she 
imparted  her  last  benediction  to  her  '  boy  and  girl ' — the 
adventurous  pioneers  of  the  family — the  perils  that  lay  in 
her  children's  way ;  how  fraud  and  robbery,  and  in  friendly 
guise  too,  would  track  them  across  the  ocean,  perhaps 
sail  with  them  in  the  same  ship,  even  lie  with  them  in 
the  same  berth;  and  how  nothing  short  of  the  inter- 
position of  a  merciful  Providence  could  save  them  from 
utter  and  irremediable  ruin. 

The  ships,  of  which  such  glowing  accounts  were  read 
on  Sunday  by  the  Irish  peasant,  on  the  flaming  placards 
posted  near  the  chapel  gate,  were  but  too  often  old  and 
unseaworthy,  insufficient  in  accommodation,  without  the 
means  of  maintaining  the  most  ordinary  decency,  with  bad 
or  scanty  provisions,  not  having  even  an  adequate  supply 
of  water  for  a  long  voya^^e ;  and  to  render  matters  worse, 
they,  as  a  rule  rather  than  as  the  exception,  were  shame- 
fully underhanded.  True,  the  provisions  and  the  crew 
passed  muster  in  Liverpool — for,  twenty  years  since,  and 
long  after,  it  was  from  that  port  the  greater  number  of 
the  emigrants  to  America  sailed ;  but  there  were  tenders 
and  hghters  to  follow  the  vessel  out  to  sea ;  and  over  the 
sides  of  that  vessel  several  of  the  mustered  men  would 
pass,  and  casks,  and  boxes,  and  sacks  would  be  expe- 
ditiously hoisted,  to  the  amazement  of  the  simple  people, 
who  looked  on  at  the  strange,  and  to  them  unaccountable 
operation.  And  thus  the  great  ship,  with  its  living  freight 
would  turn  her  prow  towards  the  West,  depending  on  her 
male  passengers,  as  upon  so  many  impressed  seamen,  to 
handle  her  ropes,  or  to  work  her  pumps  in  case  of  accident, 
which   was   only  too  common  under  such  circumstances. 


THE  EXODUS-EMIGRATION  AS  IT  WAS. 


181 


the  lengths 
I  their  tiii- 
low  of  the 
1  in  every 
.  water,  by 
ter,  as  she 
girl ' — the 
that  lay  in 
in  friendly 
1,  perhaps 
h  them  in 
the  inter- 
:hem  fj'oni 

svere  read 
?  placards 
n  old  and 
ithout  the 
,  with  bad 
ite  supply 
ers  worse, 
ire  shame- 

the  crew 
3ince,  and 
umber  of 
'6  tenders 
I  over  the 
len  would 

be  expe- 
le  people, 
!COuntable 
ng  freight 
ig  on  her 
leamen,  to 
'  accident, 
mstances. 


I 


f    >', 


What  with   bad   or   scanty  provisiors,  scarcity  of  wator, 
severe  hardship,  and  long  confinement  in  a  foul  don,  shi/) 
fever  reaped  a  glorious  harvest  between  decks,  as  frequent 
ominous  splashes  of  shot-weighted  corpses  into  the  deep 
but  too  terribly  testified.     Whatever  the  cause,  the  deaths 
on  board  the  British  ships  enormously  exceeded  the  mor- 
tality on  board  the  ships  of  any  other  country.     For  in- 
stance, according  to  the  records  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Enngration  for  the  State  of  New  York,  the  quota  of  sick 
per  thousand  stood  thus  in  1847  and  1848— British  ves- 
sels, 30  ;  American,  9|  ;  Germans,  8f     It  was  no  unusual 
occurrence  for. the  survivor  of  a  family  of  ten  or  twelve 
to  land   alone,    bewildered    and    broken-hearted,   on    the 
wharf  at  New  York  ;    the  rest-the  family-parents  and 
children,  had  been  swaUowed  in  the  sea,  their  bodies  mark- 
mg  the  course  of  the  ship  to  the  New  World. 

But  there  were  worse   dangers   than   sickness,   greater 
calamities  than  death  and  a  grave  in  the  ocean,  with  the 
chance  of  becoming  food  for  the  hungry  shark.     There  was 
no  protection  against  lawless  violence  and  brutal  lust  on 
the  one  hand,  or  physical  helplessness  and  moral  prostra- 
tion on  the  other.     To  the  clergyman,  the  physician,  and 
the  magistrate,  are  known  many  a  sad  tale  of  human  wreck 
and  dishonour,  having  their  origin  in  the  emigrant  sailing 
ship  of  not  many  years  since.     Even  so  late  as  1860,  an 
Act  was  passed  by  Congress  'to  regulate  the  carriage'  of 
passengers  in  steamships  and  other  vessels,  for  the  better 
protection  of  female  passengers';  and  a  single  clause  of 
this  Act,  which  it  is  necessary  to  quote,  is  a  conclusive 
proof  of  the  constant  and  daUy  existence  of  the  most  fear- 
ful danger  to  the  safety  of  the  poor  emigrant  girl.     Every 
line  of  the  clause  is  an  evidence  of  the  evU  it  endeavours 
to  arrest : — 

That  eveiy  maeter  or  other  officer,  seaman,  or  other  person  em- 
ployed  on  board  of  any  ship  or  vessel  of  the  United  States,  who 
Bhall,  during  the  voy?ge  of  suoh  ship   or  vessel,  under  promise   of 


ik:' 


4 

•■■a  ■ 
■  t 

) 


182 


TIIK  IKISII  IN  AMKUICA. 


marriage,  or  by  threalfl,  or  by  the  oxtM-cIso  of  his  ftuthority,  or  by 
Holicitfition,  or  tlio  iimkirig  of  gifts  or  prcsoiitH,  sodiico  .  .  .  nny 
ffiiiiilo  piiHHongcr,  Hhall  bo  guilty  of  a  nusdi'mciinour,  and  upon  con- 
viction Biittll  bo  punislic'd  by  iiiipriHoumtMit  for  a  term  not  excecditig 
ono  year,  or  by  a  lino  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  ;  provided 
that  tlio  HubHcqucnt  interniarriago  of  tho  parties  seducing  and  seduced 
may  be  phiaded  in  bar  of  conviction. 

It  is  fiirtlicr  provided,  by  the  second  clauKC,  tluit  neither 
officerH,  nor  seamen,  nor  others  employed  on  board,  shall 
visit  or  frequent  any  part  of  such  ship  or  vessel  assigned 
to  emigrant  passengers,  except  by  direction  or  permission 
of  tho  master  or  commander,  'first  made  or  given  for 
such  purpose.'  Forfeiture  of  his  wages  for  the  voyage  is 
the  penalty  attaching  to  any  officer  or  seaman  violating 
this  wholesome  rule  ;  and  the  master  or  commander  who 
shtdl  direct  or  permit  any  of  his  ofjficers  or  seamen  to  visit 
or  frequent  ^ny  part  of  the  ship  assigned  to  Emigrant 
passengers,  except  for  tho  purpose  of  performing  some 
necessary  act  or  duty,  shall,  upon  conviction,  be  punished 
by  a  line  of  50  dollars  for  each  separate  offence.  And  tho 
master  or  commander  who  does  not  'post  a  written  or 
printed  notice,  in  the  Enghsh,  French,  and  German  lan- 
guages,' containing  the  provision  of  the  foregoing  or  second 
section,  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  forecastle,  and  in  the 
several  parts  of  the  ships  assigned  to  emigrant  passengers, 
and  keep  it  posted  during  the  voyage,  shall  be  liable  to  a 
penalty  not  exceeding  500  dollars. 

This  is  a  wise  and  humane  Act,  passed  at  any  time  ;  but 
what  lives  of  shame  and  deaths  of  misery  would  it  not  have 
prevented  had  it  been  in  active  operation  for  the  last  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  as  a  restraint  upon  lawless  brutality ! 

Before  leaving  the  ship  for  the  land,  it  may  not  be  out 
of  place  to  afford  the  reader,  through  the  testimony  of  a 
reliable  witness,  Mr.  Vere. Foster,  a  notion  of  the  manner 
in  which  emigrants  were  treated  in  some  vessels,  the  dis- 
honesty of  whose  owners  or  charterers  was  only  equalled  by 
the  ruffianism  of  their  officers  and  crews.     The  letter  from 


CAPTAIN  AND  CIIKW  WELF.  MAT(lir:i). 


I  S3 


which  th«  extract  was  taken  was  imbHsliod  in  1S",1  by 
order  of  tlie  House  of  Commons  ;  hid  facts  siiuilur  to  thoso 
doscribcMl  hy  Mr.  Foster  have  been  fre.iuently  complai.KHl 
of  since  then.  The  ship  in  question  had  UOO  passen-er.s 
on  board,  and  this  is  a  sample  of  the  manner  in  which\lio 
hickless  people  wore  supphod  with  a  gi-eat  nocessai-y  of 
hfe  : — 

ThoHcrvingout  of  tho  water  was  twice  Cftpriciously  Htoppo.l  by  the 
m.xt..8  of  the  ship,  who  .luring  tho  whole  time,  witlioiit  any  provocation, 
cnnml  and  abuscl,  and  cufTod  and  liicked,  tho  passengers  and  thcur  tin 
cmn,  and,  having  served  out  water  to  about  :J0  i.ersons,  in  two  m-parato 
tune«.  said  thoy  would  give  no  more  water  out  till  the  next  morning,  and 
kept  their  word. 

A  very  simple  mode  was  adopted  of  economising  tho 
ship's  stores— namely,  that  of  not  issuing  provisions  of  any 
kind  for  four  days ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  following 
renionscrance,  it  is  probable  that  as  many  more  days  woidd 
have  passed  without  tlioir  being  issued  : 

Rkspucti:i)  Siu,-We,  the  undersigned  passengers  on  board  tho  ship 

P'"'l  f"'*  '^"'1  secured  our  passages  in  lier  in  the  confident 

expectation  that  the  allowance  of  provisions  promised  in  our  contract 
tickets  would  be  faithfully  delivered  to  us.  Four  entire  days  having 
expired  since  the  day  on  which  (some  of  us  having  been  on  board 
from  that  day,  and  most  of  us  from  before  that  day)  the  ship  was  ap- 
pomted  to  sail,  and  three  entire  days  since  she  actually  sailed  from 
the  port  of  Liverpool,  without  our  having  received  one  particle  of 
the  stipulated  provisions  excepting  water,  and  many  of  us  having 
made  no  provision  to  meet  such  an  emergency,  we  request  that  you  will 
inform  us  when  we  may  expect  to  commence  receiving  the  allowance 
whioh  is  our  due. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  in  what  manner  this  ap- 
pUcation  was  received  by  the  mHd-mannered  gentleman 
in  command.  It  appears  that  captain  and  mate  were 
sing-ularly  well-matched ;  indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
decide  to  wliich  of  the  two  amiable  beings  the  merit  of 
gentleness  and   good  temper  should  be  awarded.      Mr. 


A 

I) 

'.ji 


:1 


{;1 

ft     .A 

vA 


ISt 


THE  luisii  IN  AMfiirircA. 


J'ofltor  thus  describes  the  agrcoablo  nature  of  his  recep- 
tion : — 

4 

On  tlio  inoniiii-   of  lot'  T.Ist  October,  I  presented  the  letter  to  Cap- 

tiiiii .     ifo  ,^i,]n^.^\  „n,  j|,^5  j„„.p,„.t  (,f  i(,^  .^^^i\  biule  luo  read  it.     Ilav- 

iiifT  read  out  one-tliird  of  it,  lie  said  that  was  enough,  and  that  he  knew 
what  1  was;  I  was  a  damned  pirate,  a  damned  rascal,  and  that  he  would 
put  vw  in  irons  and  on  bread  and  water  throughout  the  rest  of  the  voynfje. 
Tlie  first  mate  then  came  U]),  and  abused  me  foully  aiid  blasphe- 
mously, and  pushed   me   down,  bidding  mo  get  out  of  that,   as  I  vaa 

a  damned  b .     He   was  found   by  one  of  the  passengers  soou 

afterwards,  heating  a  thick  bar  of  iron  at  the  kitchen  fire ;  the  cook 
said,  '  What  is  he   doing  that  for  ? '  and   the  mate  said,   '  There   is 

a  damr.ed  b on  board,  to  whom  I  intend  giving  a  singeing  before 

he  leaves  the  bhip.' 

As  a  single  oxaiuplo  of  the  treatment  to  which  the  help- 
less .Mid  the  feeble  are  exposed  from  brutes  who  luxuriate 
in  violence  and  blaspjiomy,  thia  incident,  the  more  impres- 
sive bee  .use  of  the  homely  language  in  which  it  is  told, 
may  bo  given  : — 

A  delicate  ol-'  man.  named  John  M-Corcoran,  of  berth  No.  Ill, 
informed  me  that  on  Sunday  last  ho  luvd  just  come  on  deck,  and,  after 
washing,  was  wringing  a  pair  of  stockings,  when  the  first  mate  gave  him 
such  a  severe  kick  vyith  his  knee  on  his  backside  as  he  was  stooping 
down,  that  he  ihrew  Lim  dov  n  upon  the  deck,  since  which  he  has  been 
obliged  to  go  to  the  watercloset  three  or  four  times  a  day,  passing  blood 
every  time. 

These  extracts,  quoted  with  the  purpose  of  illustrating 
the  harsh,  brutal,  and  d^'shonest  conduct  too  often  practised 
against  emigrants  in  some  ships-— mostly  sailinc)  ships— are 
rehed  on  as  accm-ate,  boing  vouched  for  by  the  signature 
of  a  gentleman  whose  name  has  long  been  associated  with 
deeds  of  active  humanity  and  practical  benevolence. 

Within  sight  of  the  wished-for  land,  the  trials  of  the 
emigrant  might  be  said  to  have  begun  rather  than  to  have 
ended ;  or  rather  the  trials  on  land  succeeded  to  the  trials 
on  sea. 

Previously  to  the  year  1847,  the  ahen  emigrant  was 
lef I-.  either,  to  the  general  quarantine  and  poor-laws,  or  to 


''■i 

! 


now  THINGS  WERE  DONE  TWENTY  YEARS  SINCE.     185 

local  laws  and  o.  dinanccs,  varyiiifr  in  tlieir  cliaracfcer,  or  in 
then-  aainiiiistration.      A   -onorul    tax   on   all  pusson^ers 
arriving  at  tlio  port  of  Now  York  was  applied  to  the  .sup- 
port  of  the  Marine  Hospital  at  Quarantine,  ^wherc  the  alien 
sick  were  received  and  treated  ;  but  this  was  aU  that  the 
hurnanity  of  that  day  provided  for  the  rehef  of  those  whom 
necessity  had  driven   to  the  shores  cf  America..     By  the 
local  laws,  the  owners  of  vessels  bringing  foreign  emigrants 
were  required  to  enter  into  bonds  indemnifying  the   city 
and  county  in  case  of  their  becoming  chargeable   under 
the  poor-laws.     These  provisions  were  found  to  be  incon- 
venient to  the  shipowner,  owing  to  the  great  increase  of 
emigration  from  the  year  1840  to  the  year  1847,  and  were 
altogether  insufficient  as   a  means   of   protection   to   the 
emigrant  against  the   consequences  of  disease  or  destitu- 
tion.     The   bonds  were  onerous  to  the  respectable  ship- 
Qwner,  and  a  rope  of  sand  to  the  fi-audulent.     The  ship- 
owner, too,  adopted  a  means  of  evading  his  responsibihty 
by  transferring  it  to  the  shipbroker,  a  person  generally  of 
an  inferior  class  ;  and  the  shipbroker  thus  consenting  to 
stand  m  the  place  and   assume  the   responsibihty  of  the 
OTvner,  the  ship  and  her  Hving  fi-eiglit  were  unreservedly 
suirendered  to  him.     The  shipowner  had  the   alternative 
either  to  give  b-nds  of    indemnity  to   the    city   against 
possible  chargeability,  or  compound  for  a  certain  sum  per 
head,  and  thus  rid  himself  of  all  future  responsibility  ;  but 
he  found  it  more  convenient  to  deal  with  the  broker  'than 
with   the   city  authorities.       The  broker  freely  gave  his 
bond;  but  when  tested,  it  was  in  most  instances  found  to 
be  valueless,   he  generaUy  being  a  man   of    straw.      To 
the  tender  mercies  of  the  broker  the   emigrant  was  thus 
abandoned. 

Private  hospitals,  or  poor-houses,  were  established  by 
the  brokers  on  the  outskirts  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn ; 
and  from  the  results  of  an  inquiry  instituted  by  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  of  New  York  in  the  year  184G,  an  idea  may 


^ 


K 


■4 

;i 

'k 

■.di 

i 


i 


18G 


THE  IIIISII  IN  AMERICA. 


bo  formed  of  the  troutniont  received  by  the  wretched 
oiui'JiTauts  whose  hard  fate  drove  them  into  those  iiislitu- 
tioiis.  The  Committee  discovered  in  one  apartment,  50 
io.o,t  si^uare,  100  sick  and  djinfjf  omif^-rants  lying  on  straAv  ; 
and  among  them,  in  their  midst,  the  bodies  of  two  who 
had  died  four  or  five  days  before,  but  been  left  for  that 
time  without  burial!  They  found,  in  the  course  of  their 
in(|uiry,  that  decayed  vegetables,  bad  flour,  and  putrid 
meat,  were  specially  purchased  and  provided  for  the  use  of 
the  strang(n-s!  Such  as  had  strength  to  escape  from  tlioso 
slauglit(u--h()uses  fled  from  them,  as  from  a  plagu(>,  and 
roamed  through  the  city,  exciting  the  compassion,  perhaps 
the  horror,  of  the  pass(}rs-by  ;  *  those  who  were  tt)o  ill  to 
escape  had  to  take  their  chance — such  chancre  as  poisonous 
food,  infected  air,  and  bad  treatnu;nt  {ifl'orded  them  of 
ultimate  recovery.  Thanks  to  the  magnitude  and  notoriety 
of  the  fearful  abuses  of  the  system  then  shown  to  exist,  a 
remedy,  at  ouco  comprehensive  and  efficacious,  was  adopted 
— not,  it  is  true,  to  come  into  immediate  operation,  but  to 
l^rove  in  course  of  time  one  of  the  noblest  monnments  of 
enlightened  wisdom  and  practical  philanthropy.  In  the 
Prefacie  to  the  published  lleports  of  tlie  Conunissioners  of 
Immigration,  from  the  organisation  of  the  Commission  in 
18J:7  to  18G0,  the  origui  of  the  good  work  is  thus  told  : — 


*  A  prominent  nnd  much  respected  citizen  of  Now  York,  born  of  Irish  parents, 
eminent  for  ability  and  humanity,  assured  me  ho  never  could  forgot  tno  apiiearance 
of  ii  miserable  old  Irish  woman  who,  as  the  snow  lay  on  the  ground,  and  a  bitter 
Mind  swept  through  the  streets,  was  begging  one  Sunday  morning  in  Hroadway. 
Her  hair  was  almost  white,  her  look  that  of  starvation,  and  the  clothuig,  if  such 
it  could  be  called,  as  scanty  as  the  oarest  decency  might  permit.  Shivering  and 
hungry,  she  held  out  her  lean  hands  in  mute  petition  to  well-clad  passers-by— 
her  air  and  attitude  as  much  a  prayer  for  compassion  In  God's  name,  as  if  her 
longuo  had  expressed  it  in  words.  This  half  naked,  starving,  shivering  creatur*! 
was  otui  of  a  ship-load  of  human  beings  who  had  been  •  packed  off  to  Ajn(H'ica ' 
by  an  absentee  nobleman  enjoying  a  wide  reputation  for  benevolence  I  t-'ho  was 
b\it  a  type  of  the  thousands  whom  a  similar  lofty  humanity  had  consigned  to  the 
ft^vcr-ship  and  the  fever-shed,  or  flung,  naked  and  destitute,  on  the  streets  of 
New  York,  objects  of  pity  or  of  terror  to  its  citizens,  and  of  scandal  to  the  civilised 
hoiid. 


!  wretched 
).se  inslitu- 
■rtineiit,  50 
<;  on  strjiAv  ; 
f  two  who 
ft  for  that 
se  of  theu' 
iiid  putrid 

the  uso  of 
from  thoso 
iliij^nie,  and 
)n,  perhaps 
D  too  ill  to 

poisonous 
d  them  of 
d  notoriety 
L  to  exist,  a 
as  adopted 
ion,  but  to 
mments  of 
■f.  In  the 
ssioners  of 
mission  in 
told  :— 


Irish  parents, 
tuc  aiiiieiiranco 
1(1,  and  a  bitter 
J  in  Hroadway. 
3thin^%  if  sucli 

Shivoriiig  and 
d  passers-by — 
ame,  as  if  hor 
.'ering  croatiirc. 
ff  to  Ain(H'i(M  • 
nee  I  Hlio  was 
nsigned  to  tlio 
the  streets  of 
to  the  civilised 


THE  EMIGRATION  COMMISSION  AND  ITS  WORK.        187 

Tliis  state  of  things  was  bocoining  more  distreH.sino;  as  emicrration 
grew  larger,  and  it  even  threatened  danger  to  the  public  hpaUh.  A 
number  of  eitiztnis.  to  whose  notice  these  facts  were  specially  and 
frequently  brought— to  some  from  their  connection  with  commerce 
and  navigation,  to  others  from  personal  sympathy  with  the  children 
of  the  land  of  their  own  nativity,— met  about  the  close  of  the  year 
184(!,  or  the  winter  of  1817,  and  consulted  on  the  means  of  remedy- 
ing these  evils.  They  proposed  and  at>;reed  upon  a  plan  of  relief,  which 
was  presented  to.  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
was  passed  into  a  law  in  the  session  of  1817.  The  system  then  le- 
commended  and  adopted  was  that  of  a  permanent  commission  for  the 
relief  and  protection  of  alien  emigrants  arriving  at  the  port  of  New 
York,  to  whose  aid  such  emigrants  should  be  entitled  for  five  years 
after  their  arrival,  the  expenses  of  their  establishment  and  other 
relief  being  defrayed  by  a  small  commutative  payment  from  each 
emigrant.* 

Figures,  however  gigantic,  afford  but  an  imperfect 
notion  of  the  work,  the  self-imposed  and  disinterested 
work,  of  this  Commission— of  the  good  they  have  ac- 
conipHshed,  and,  more  important  still,  the  evil  they  have 
prevented.  When  it  is  stated  that  from  May  1847  to  the 
close  of  180G,  the  number  of  passengers  who  arrived  at 
the  port  of  New  York  was  3,G59,000— about  one-third  of 
whom  received  temporary  relief  from  the  Commissioners— 
we  may  understand  how  wide  and  vast  was  the  field  of 
their  benevolent  labours.  But  in  order  to  appreciate  the 
protection  they  afforded  to  those  who  had  hitherto  been 
unprotected,  and  the  villanies  they  successfully  baffled,  it 
is  necessary  to  describe  some  of  the  dangers  Avhich  dogged 
the  footsteps  of  the  emigrant  after  landing  in  New  York.^ 

As  voracious  fish  devour  the  smaller  and  helpless  of  tlie 
finny  tribe,  so  did  a  host  of  human  sharks  and  cormorants 
prey  upon  the  unhappy  emigrant,  whose  innocence  and 
inexperience  left  him  or  her  completely  at  their  mercy; 
and  scant  was  the  mercy  they  vouchsafed  their  victinis.. 
These  bandits— for  such  they  literally  were,  notwithstand- 
nig  that  they  did  not  exactly  strike  down  tlieir  victims  with 
pistol  or  with  po'gnard— assumed  many  forms,  such  as 

*  Now  two  dollars  and  a-half. 


'% 


188 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


brokers,  iiinnor.s,  bo.'inling-htmso  keepers,  comrniHsion 
Mgeiils,  sellers  of  'bo^^us'  tjekcts,  and  others;  and  IVoni 
their  imiuber  and  audaeity  they  appeared  to  set  all  law  and 
authority  at  defiance.  To  such  an  extent  had  their  daring 
depredations  been  carried,  that  the  Legislature,  in  181(5, 
appointed  a  Select  C\)mmitteo  to  investigate  their  practices. 
But,  in  their  first  annual  report,  the  Connnissi<;ners  are 
conipelhul  to  acknowledge  how  little  was  the  practical  good 
resulting  from  the  in(piiry  and  its  consequent  disclosures  ; 
for  they  say — '  It  is  a  matter  of  almost  daily  observation 
by  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  Commissioners,  that  the 
frauds  exi)osed  in  the  lleport  of  the  Select  Committee, 
appointed  last  year  to  (examine  frauds  upon  emigrants, 
continued  to  be  practised  ^^ith  as  much  boldness  and 
frequency  as  ever.  A  regular  and  systematic  course  of 
deception  and  fraud  is  continually  in  operation,  whereby 
the  emigrant  is  dejirived  of  a  large  portion  of  the  means 
intended  to  aid  him  in  procuring  a  homo  in  the  country  of 
his  adoption.' 

To  do  the  Legislature  justice,  it  freely  passed  laws  to 
guard  the  poor  alien  from  '  those  enemies  of  the  emigrant ' 
— agents,  runners,  forwarders,  iuid  brokers,  and  also  in- 
vested the  Commissioners  with  considerable  powers;  but 
the  best  intentions  of  the  Legislature,  and 'the  most 
earnest  exertions  of  the  Commissioners,  were  baflled  by 
unexpected  obstacles;  and  it  was  not  until  after  having 
encountered  ditKculties  and  borne  with  disappointments 
which  would  have  daunted  benevolence  less  courageous 
than  theirs,  that,  in  the  year  1855,  the  Commissioners 
succeeded  in  securing  the  grand  object  of  their  persistent 
efibrts ;  ziamely,  the  possession  of  on  official  landing-place  for 
all  the  emigrants  arriving  at  the  port  of  New  York.  They 
were  from  the  first  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  obtain- 
ing this  landing  place ;  and  in  their  second  Report  they 
express  their  regjet  that,  being  unable  to  obtain  the  use 
of  a  pier  for  this  purpose,  and  consequently  being  unable 


tlic  means 


)ointments 


niissioners 


LAND  SHARKS  AND  THEIR  PREY. 


189 


io  reach  the  ciiiin^raiit  l)oforc  he  falls  anioiigst  tlK).se  who 
stand  ready  to  deeeivo  him,  frauds,  Avhich  formerly  excited 
so  much  iiulifrnation  and  sympathy,  are  continued  with  as 
much  boldness  and  frc(iuency  as  ever. 

The  hiw  also  attempted  to  rej^ulate  the  charj^^es  in  board- 
hig-hous<;s,  and  protect  the  luggage  of  the  emigrant  from 
the  clutches  of  the  proprietors  of  those  establishments  ; 
but  it  appeared  only  to  render  the  lot  of  the  emigrant  one 
of  still  greater  hardship  ;  for  what  could  no  longer  be  le- 
gally retained  was  illegally  made  away  with.  In  their  He- 
port  for  1818,  tiie  Connnissioners  refer  to  the  new  system 
adopted  in  these  houses  :— '  Of  late,  robberies  of  luggage 
from  emigrant  boarding-houses  have  become  of  frequent 
occurrence,  so  as  to  have  excited  the  suspicion  that  in  some 
instances  the  keoi)ers  of  the  houses  are  not  altogether  free 
from  participation  in  the  robbery.  If  the  tavern  keeper 
has  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  lodger  will  not  be  able 
to  pay  his  bill,  and  knowing  that  the  law  i)rohibits  his  re- 
taining the  luggage,  he  nuiy  think  it  proper  to  secure  his 
claim  without  law.' 

I  must  confess  to  being  immensely  amused  at  hearing 
from  one  who  had  passed  through  the  ordeal,  how  he  had 
been  dealt  with  in  the  fine  old  time  of  unrestricted  plunder, 
when  the  emigrant  was  left  to  his  fate— that  fate  assuming 
the  substantial  fwrm  of  the  runner  and  the  boarding-house 
keeper.      My   informant  was    a    great,   broad-shouldered, 
red-haired  Irishman,  over  six  feet  '  in  his  stocking-vamps,' 
and  who,  I  may  add,  on  the  best  authority,  bore  himself 
gallantly  in  the  late  war,  under  the,  banner  of  the  Union. 
He  was  but  a  very  young  lad  when,  in  1848,  he  came  to 
New  York,  with  a  companion  of  his  own  age,  'to  better 
his  fortune,'  as  many  a  good  Irishman  had  endeavoured  to 
do   before   him.      He   possessed,  besid'  v    splendid   health 
and  a  capacity  for  hard  work,  a  box  of  tools,  a  l)undle  of 
dothf-i,  and  a  few  pounds  in  gold     not  a  bad  outlli  for  a 
good-tempered  young  Irishman,  with  a  red  head,  broad 


■i|. 


ir;. 


;3 


1  It] 


!  -4 

I  } 

■'.^ 

I  4 

I 

K 

III 


n 


190 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


shoulders,  grant!  appetite,  and  fast  rising  to  the  six  feet. 
The  moment  he  landed,  his  luggage  was  pouneed  upon  by 
two  runners,  one  seizing  the  box  of  tools,  the  other  con- 
fis(;ating  the  clothes.     The  future  American  citizen  assured 
his  obliging  friends  that  he  was  quite  capable  of  cfirrying 
his  own  luggage  ;    but  no,  they  should  rehcve  him— the 
stranger,  and  guest  of  the  Ilepublic— of  that  trouble.    Each 
was  in  the  interest  of  a  different  boarding-house,  and  each 
insisted  that  the  young  Irishman  with  the  red  head  should 
go  with  him— a  proposition  that,  to  any  but  a  New  York 
runner,  would  seem,  if  not  altogether  impossible,  at  least 
most   difficult   of    accomphshment.       Not    being    able    to 
oblige  both  the  gentlemen,  he  could  only  oblige  one  ;  and 
as  the  tools  were  more  valuable  than  the  clothes,  he  fol- 
lowed in  the  path  of  the  gentleman  who  had  secured  that 
portion  of  the   'plunder.'      He   remembers   that  the  two 
gentlemen    wore   very  pronounced    green    neck-ties,    and 
spoke  with  a  richness  of  accent  that  denoted  special  if 
not  conscientious  cultivation  ;    and  on  his  arriviil   at  the 
boarding-house,  he  was  cheered  with  the  announcement 
that  its  proprietor  was  from  '  the  ould  counthry,  and  loved 
every  sod  of  it,  God  bless  it ! '     In  a  manner  truly  paternal, 
the  host  warned  the  two  lads  against  the  dangers  of  the 
streets ;    and   so   darkly   did   he    paint  the   horrors,    and 
villanies,  and  murders  of  all  kinds,  that  were  sure  to  rain 
down  upon  their  innocent  heads,  that  the  poor  boys  were 
frightened  into  a  rigid  seclusion  from  the  world  outside, 
and  occupied  their  time  as  best  they  could,  not  forgetting 
'the  eating  and  the  drinking'  which  the  house  afforded. 
The  young  Irishman  with  the  red  head  imparted  to  the 
host   the   fact  of  his  hoving   a  friend   in   Canal  Street— 
'wherever  Canal  Street  was ' ;  and  that  the  friend  had  been 
some  six  years  in  New  York,  and  knew  the  place  well,  and 
was  to  procure  employment  for  him  as  soon  as  they  met  ; 
and  he  concludful   by  asking  how  lie  could  get  to  Cnnal 
Street.      'Canal   Street!— is  it   Canal   Street?— why  then 


FINDING   CANAL  STRt^ET. 


191 


what  a  mortal  pity,  and  the  stjirro  to  go  just  an  hour  boforo 
you  entered  this  very  door  !     My,  my !  thatVs  unfortunate  ; 
isn't  it  ?     Well,  no  matter,  there'll  bo  another  in  two  days' 
time,  or  three  at  farthest,  and  I'll  be  sure  to  see  you  sent 
there  all  right— depend  your  life  on  me  when  I  say  it,' 
said  the  jovial  kindly  host.     For  full  forty-eight  hours  the 
two  lads,  who  were  as  innocent  as  a  brace  of  young  goslings, 
endured  the  irksome  monotony  of  the  boarding-house,  even 
though   that   abode   of    liospitahty  was    cheered    by    the 
presence  of  its  jovial  host,  who  loved  every  sod  of    the 
'  ould  counthry ; '  but  human  nature  cannot  endure  beyond 
a   certain   limit— and    the    two    lads    resolved,    in    sheer 
desperation,  to  break  bounds  at  any  hazard.     They  roamed 
through  the  streets  for  some  time,  without  any  special  ill 
befaUing  them.     Meeting  a  policeman,   the  young  fellow 
with  the  red  hend  suggested  to  his  companion  the  possi- 
bility  of    the    official    knowing    something    about    Canal 
Street ;  and  as  his  companion  had  nothing  to  urge  against 
it,   they  approached    that    functionary,   and    boldly    pro- 
pounded the  question  to   him— where   Canal   Street  was, 
and  how  it  could  be  reached?     'Why,   then,   my  man,' 
replied  the  pohceman,  who  also  happened  to  bo  a   con> 
patriot,   'if   you  only  foUow  your  nose  for   the   space  of 
twenty  minutes  in  that   direction,  you'll  come  to   Canal 
Street,   and    no    mistake   about  it;    you'U   see  the   name 
on  the  corner,  in  big  letters,  if  you  can  read— as  I  suppose 
you  can,  for  you  look  to  be  two  decent  boys.'     Canal  Street 
in  twenty  minutes!     Here  indeed  was  a  pleasant  surprise 
for  the  young  feUows,    who  had  been  told  to  wait  for 
the  stage,  which,  according  to   the  veracious  host,   'was 
due   in  about  another  day.'    Of   course  they  did    oUow 
their  respective  noses  until  they  actually  reached  Canal 
Street,  found  the   number  of    the  house   in   which   their 
friend  resided,  and  discovered  the  friend  himself,  to  whom 
they    recounted    their    brief    adventures    in    New    York. 
Thanks  to  the  smartness  of  their  acclimated  friend,   they 


■A 
tA 

1 


J 


192 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


recovered  tli(ur  effects,  but  not  before  they  (lisbur.scil  to 
the  joviiil  liowt,  who  '  loved  every  sod  of  the  onld  couiithry, 
God  blesH  it ! '  more  thau  would  have  ciifibled  them  to  faro 
sumptuously  at  the  Astor.  And  as  the  great  strapping 
fellow — who  had  siuco  seen  many  a  brave  man  die  with 
his  face  to  tho  foe — told  the  tale  of  his  first  introduction 
to  the  Emjiiro  City,  he  actually  looked  sheepish  at  its 
recollection,  and  then  laughed  heartily  at  a  simplicity 
which  had  long  since  become,  with  him,  a  weakness  of 
the  past. 

As  a  companion  picture  to  tho  foregoing,  the  story  of  a 
Scotch  victim,  who  was  driven  crazy  by  the  vigorous  appli- 
cation of  the  fleecing  process,  will  exliibit  tho  manner  in 
which  tilings  were  done  before  the  Castle  Garden  era. 
This  was  part  of  the  evidence  taken  in  1847  : — 

Testimony  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society.  We,  the  undersigned, 
officers  of  St.  Andrew's  Society,  in  the  city  of  Albany,  do  hereby  certify 
that  on  or  abont  the  2nd  day  of  August  last  it  was  represented  to  us 
by  a  manager  of  our  society  that  a  Scotch  emigrant,  by  tho  name  of 
James  IIooslop,  had  been  grossly  defrauded  and  swindled  out  of  his 
money  by  tho  runners,  or  the  robbing  concerns  for  whom  these  run- 
uerh  do  business.  We  immediately  went  on  the  dock,  and  made 
inquiries  after  Ileeslop,  when  wo  were  informed  that  he  had  been 
despatched  on  a  boat  to  his  destination  ;  we  had  him  followed  to 
Troy,  and  brought  back.  The  story  he  told  the  police  justice,  Cole,  in 
our  presence,  in  asking  for  a  warrant  against  the  notorious  Smethurst, 
was  in  substance  as  follows: — That  he  arrived  in  New  York  from 
Scotland  a  few  days  previous  ;  that  his  destination  was  Port  Wash- 
ington, in  the  State  of  Ohio :  that  he  was  accosted  by  a  person  in 
New  York  near  the  Albany  steamboat,  who  represented  himself  as  a 
forwarding  agent,  and  with  whom  he  (Heeslop)  agreed  for  the  pas- 
sage of  himself  and  family  (three  persons),  from  there  to  his  destina- 
tion, and  paid  the  said  agent,  therefore,  four  British  sovereigns,  the 
agent  consigning  Heeslop  to  the  care  of  Smethurst  and  Co.  He  gave 
Ileeslop  tickets  which  the  agent  told  him  would  carry  him  through. 
That  a  short  time  after  the  boat  started,  Ileeslop  was  accosted  by  a 
second  person,  who  likewise  represented  himself  as  forwarding  agent, 
and  having  learned  the  destination  and  particulars  of  Heeslop's  afi'airs, 
asked  to  look  at  his  tickets ;  that  IIccslup  shuucd  him  the  tickets, 
and    the  agent  told    Ileeslop    that    the    other    agent    bad   mistaken,      , 


SHARKS  AND  CORMORANTS. 


193 


sburscil  to 

I  couiithry, 
icm  to  faro 

strapping 

II  die  with 
itroduction 
lish    at   its 

simplicity 
cakness  of 

story  of  a 
roiis  appli- 
manuer  in 
arden  era. 

undersigned, 
lereby  certify 
•esented  to  ii9 
tlio  name  of 
1  out  of  his 
ra  these  nin- 
c,  and  made 
le    had  been 

followed  to 

tice,  Cole,  in 

iS  Smethurst, 

r  York  from 

s  Port  Wash- 

a  person  in 

himself  as  a 

for  the  pas- 

1  his  destina- 

vereigns,  the 

^0.    He  gave 

him  through. 

accosted  by  a 

arding  agent, 

islop's  afi'airs, 

the  tickets, 
ad   mistaketi, 


that  those  ticket.^  wen^  only  pood  as  far  as  Buffalo  and  that  in  order  to 
miilte  sure  his  ])assiig(',  it  would  l.c  nccessiiry  for  him  (Iho  said  IFeeslop) 
to  pay  him  (the  said  .secuiid  agent)  a  further  piiyuu-nt  of  three  sim-eUjns, 
which  Ileeslop  hud  to  pay  wiien  hu  arrived  at  Alljany.  They  told 
Ileeslop  at  the  otlice  of  Smetliurst  and  Co.,  that  ho  should  pay  in  ad- 
dition tiie  gum  of  elfrht  sovirehjns,  togellier  witli  fifteen  sovereigns  vwre 
for  his  hujfjiuje;  that  the  said  Ileeslop  being  rendered  almost  crazy 
by  these  repeated  pliiiidcriiigs.  and,  wisliing  at  all  hazards  to  proceed 
to  his  destinatu)n  and  true  friends,  he  paid  down  the  further  demand 
of  tmnty-lhrce  soverehjus,  ;'.nd  was  then  i)ut  on  board  a  canal  boat, 
where  the  undersigned  fouud  him  and  brought  him  back  as  aforesaid. 
That  tlie  police  justice,  on  hearing  the  poor  i)luiidered  man's  tale, 
immediately  issued  a  warrant  for  the  arr«!st  of  .Smethnrst,  but  he  waa 
nowliere  to  be  found;  and  wIumi  Sniethurst  made  his  appearance 
again,  the  Scotch  emhjrant  icas  vussin(j—i\w  instruments  and  associates 
of  Sniethurst  having  in  the  meantime  cajoled  or  sent  him  from  tho 
city. 

•Thus  it  will  be  perceived,  that  thirty  sovereujns,  or  one  hundred  and 
fn-lyfwe  dollars,  were  extorted  from  this  poor  num  for  fare,  and  to  a 
l)laco.  the  ordinary  price  to  which  from  jYew  York  is  two  dollars  and 
eii/Iily-sccen  cents  a  passenr/er,  or  eiyJd  dollars  and  sixty-one  cents  for 
Ileeslop  and  his  family,  tlius  leaving  tliose  rapacious  forwarders  the 
swindling  profit  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  in  this  single 
case.    All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted.' 

So  long  as  the  Commissioners  were  unable  to  obtain  the 
compulsory  landing-place  for  aU  emigrants  arriving  at 
New  York,  the  runners,  and  brokers,  and  ticket-sellers, 
and  money-chtmgers,  had  everything  their  own  way;  and 
terrible  were  the  consequences  of  their  practical  immu- 
nity. Swarming  about  tho  wharves,  which  they  hterally 
infested,  all, — the  emigi-ant  passenger,  his  luggage,  his 
money,  his  very  future,—  was  at  their  mercy.  The  stranger 
knew  nothing  of  the  value  of  exchange,  nor  how  many 
dollars  he  sliould  receive  for  his  gold ;  but  his  new-found 
friend  did,  and  gave  him  just  as  much  as  he  could  not 
venture  to  withhold  from  him.  Then  there  were  the  tickets 
for  the  inland  journey  to  be  purchased,  and  the  new-found 
friend  with  the  green  necktie  and  the  genuine  brogue 
could  procure  these  for  him  on  terms  the  most  advan- 
tageous :  indeed,  it  was  fortunate  for  the  emig-nt  that  he 

9 


1) 


3 


-4 

I 

1 
-1 

'4 


I 


104 


TIIM  lin>n  IN  AMKUn'A. 


foil  jiild  (ho  IiiukIh  (>r  'nil  liom'st  iiiiim  ni.  luiy  nilo'  -'^ 


tor. 


linnl  l»!(>HH  iih!   !li(M.«iir«'  mo  iimiiv  im-iu'm  Io  lt(*  iii(<(,  \vi||, 

now   Hi  III  VH.' 

All  iiiHliiii('<*  (.f  icndy  rccKoiiiii/r.  imohI,  fiivoiiruldn  Id  llm 
iiijr.MMouH  arilljMU'liciiiii,  \h  icconlcd  in  Mio  rvidriKMUiilxi'ii 
in  IS  17.  Pill  linil  bnj  a  luiop  cluuicd  ii);')iiiisl,  hik-Ii  ii,  imiHlcr 
(•f  liiiMiicc.     'V\u\  wrilrr  hiivh.    '  \  wiih  in  ii  IxMinlini;  Ik.iihi- 

iniin   ciimo  np  Io  pay  liin  IhII,  wJiich 


a 


ill   CJKMry   Sln>«»l, 

IJK'  l.'iii.lJDrd  iM!iil(>  oiil,  IS  (Inilni-H.  "  Wliy,"  KayH  Mm  iiiiiii, 
"(IhIiioI  voii  M..r('(>  Io  l)(»jvnl  mn  for  Hixpciicn  ;i,  meal,  iiikI 
llim«|MMi(M>  f..i'  a  Im'.I?"  "Yos."HavM  IIk^  laiidlonl,  "and 
lliiil  niakoM  juHt  75  «m>iiIh  per  day;  you  liavc  Ixm-ii  lion^ 
«>i;;lil  tljiVM.  an<l  Mini.  iiial<rM  jiisl,  IS  (lolJarH."  Ai  llinM^- 
jpi.'irlcrM  of  a  .|,.llai-  per  .lay.  l.lu«  hill  HJioiild  liav((  Ihmmi  s/.r 
d.^llaiH  ;  so  lli(<  r(>ady  n>ck.)iu>r  niach^  fnrlrc  dollarn  hy  Jiin 
}V(MiiiiH  for  nmllipliftilioii. 

Anioii.vlli(>  nio.si  fruilfiil  iikmiiim  of  fraud  was  llio  Halo  of 


liclo'ls.     'rin'S(>  lickcls  w 


(M-o  of  various  Iviiids     tickc^lH  Hold 


oui'iwy 


tickt'ls 


irii<>v 


Ml  rxorbilaiii  prices,  bui  j^ood  for  lli(»  j 
which  cjirricd  llic  passi>ii.«;,.r  only  a  portion  of  hi.i  joi 
<1»ou}^d\  sold  (ov  jli(>  (Miliri^  n>ul(> ;  and  iick(>ls  udcrlv 
W(M-I.hlcss.  issiUMl  hy  i'oiiipMiiics  Ihai  had  lon<r  before  be;;; 
baukrui^i,  ov  by  coiupatues  Ihal   (>xisfod  only   in   ini 


ai'-ina- 


lion. 


Th 


w 


u^se  lalb^r  are  called   '  bo^UH '  iickets ;    and  ihes(> 
ere  sold  in  Kurope  as  \v,»ll  as  in  America     in  vilWe  and 


ciMinlry  (own,   as  in   cilv  and   i 


n 


se!ii)ori  ;    and  nol.  rart>lv 


wer(>   th(\v  jiahiKnl  olV  on   iho   coulldinj;-   passen}4-(>r,   as 
pvat    biir.;ain.'  by    a   synipiithisiiio-,   mxui-nalnred   fell 


a 


ow- 
leni 


pa-sensAvr,  wlio.  by  (ho  nioresl,  hick,  had  boui^ht,  (1 
cheap  from  a  family  he  knew  at,  homo,  that  liad  « chan^vd 
iheir  minds,  and  wouldn't  cross  over,  b(>ing  afoard  of 
the  sav.' 

In    IStS    the    Commissiouors    of    Emi<^rat 
civi'nlar.  in  whi.'h  (hest^  ]>assa<;t>s  occur  : 


(in   issued   a 


As  n-.av   be  sunn.>soil,  (lii>r(»  uiv   intuiy   poopU*  sMiq:>t^od   in  (he  b 


ness  of  (orwuraiiig  tIiosi»   omii;ran(s.  and  tlio  iiulividiial 


s  or  0 


oinp 


1181- 

txiiicH 


y  n«,in'-    'for, 
I»n  iiM<|,   willi 

\vn\iU)  1(1  (lid 
itli'iii'o  Itilxcii 
iiirli  11,  imiHlcr 
nt'diii;;  lioiiHtt 
is  liill,  wliicli 
*iiyH  Mi<^  iiiMii, 
n  :t.  ]ii(tal,  iiikI 
Kllord,  "niitl 
■<'  luM'ii  ]\vr{\ 
Ai  Unci! 
mvd  Im'cmi  N/.r 
lolliirM  hv  liiM 

,H   \]U)   Hlllo  of 
ii<'lv(><H    Hold 

iK'v  ;  tickt'lH 
lii.i  joni-iH\v, 
KcIm    u(i««rlv 

Ixvforo  l)(';:; 

in  iniii«»-iuii- 
;  luul  ihosv 
n  villjif^o  iiiul 
id  noi  r.'in'ly 

Ml^-(M-,    !IH    'a 

iirod  fcllow- 
ouo-ht,  tlioiii 
tut  '  clijin^cd 
^   ufojird   of 

■»ii   issued   11 

3d  in  <he  biisi- 
1  or  oompuiiii'H 


lUXilfH  TICKETS.  jof 

UiMN  priK.u(.,i  oinpioy  a  lumf,  (,f  d.-ikM  or  Hrrvnuin,  vnU,;]  "  ninn*TM,"  »ho 

''•y  '''  ' '•  •'"'  ""'''  "•"""'•  ••"  '"'uid  ll.M  Hhip  Ih.il,  l.riiiKH  liif,,.  or  'i„„„P 

•liuU'ly  iiri,,.r  In-  piilH  IiIh  I'.m.I  on  8li(.ni.  Cor  {.Iw  piirpoh..  ..rniiiyiriK  liii.i  lu 
lit-  (orw.udiiiK  <'ni(;«.H  (or  wlil.-li  i\wy  rcMp..(!l,ivHv  net.  TIm;  IridiH  r.- 
""•'''•'  '••■'"  ••"'<•'•  <•'  r..n'HUll  ,1  ,-oriipH,ilor  mui  nvvAm^  IIm,  ,.|„iKniiit 
»""l'l  '••'  i.m.iHh.K.  il  llH.y  wrr..  not,  ,i(,  ||,<.  ronl,  or  1,1...  i„..vp..ri..n(MM|  und 
'i.irvpr.iin^  HlnuiKMr;  ami  il,  h  h(,l,  l,oo  hiio  llrnl  .uirnoriMoiiH  himm  of 
"•••ix-y  IM  unrnii.lly  IohIIo  lh.M.,iiiKr,i„l,H  l,y  ||,„  wih-H  ,u,.l  fuln,.  Hlul..M,nit* 

'•'  " '"'«'■''"'  ••"""•••><.  many  oC  tJ.mii  ..ri>rinally  from  lln-ir  own  ••oiintry, 

iind  upciikinK  lln-ir  nnliv."  IiinKna«('. 

•or  lal.)  Iho  llrl.l  of  oprrulioriH  of  |,|„.h..  "  .-niiKranl,  ninnorH  "  Ih  no 
lniMX<T  conlln.Ml  lo  «!iiH(!i(y;  U.-xIrndH  lo  Kiin.p...     .     .     .  They 

K<'Mnallycall  lln.mHHv..H  nK<-nl«  of  homh,  IranHporlaUon,  or  forwanlinK 

'""' •""•'  ••"•'••"vo.ir  I..  inlpn^^H  Un.  omiKranI  who  inl,..M.lH  K'.inR  far- 

<lH'>"  <lnu.   N..W  Vork  will.  II...  Ml.nhai  il,  Ih  for  l.in  h.-n-dl,.  an.l  in  tl.o 

'"^''"''' «'•"  <'"«'''il»l.-.  (,.)  H.'.M.n^  l.iH  paHHairo  L.-nco  l,o  the  plan,  of  hin 

«l<>Mlinal.io.i,lM'foi-(.|in  I.MivcH  Kiiiop.! Jl.;  in  told  thai, 

mil.-NM  l„,  ,|o,.H  fio.  h„  n.MH  Kicat  rink  <.f  b.-i-.K  d.dainnl/or  l.avii.K  lo  pav 
cvorliilant  prices "       i    . 

'  Insla.„u.H  hav<,  ,,o.m..  lo  tl.o  kn..wi..d'fr„  of  th.^;o,„mi.MMi..mM"H.  wl.'.Me 

"' I'nvnc..  m..o..nt..d  lo  Ih.' lollars  a   pr.H(M..     iSi.t  Ihi.s  is  nol   all 

'''' ''""^  "'■"  ''.V  ""  """'i""  '•'"•'•.  in  which  1,1...  tick.ilM  prov..  vnlirvh/  worth- 

Irss.  TlK.y  |„.ar  (1...  nan...  .d'  (.III.-.'h  wl.i.d.  uwov  ...\iMt...|,  and  then  of 
iMM.iH...  an.  i..nvl.,.n,  .•...sp,.,.!,.,!  ;  or.  tl.o  .dli.TH  wl.ow.,  names  thcv  h.-ar 
will  1...  f„„nd  Mh.it  ..p.  an.l  a..^  not  lik(.|y  over  to  ro-oprn  :  i.r  th<!  cmi- 
KH-anlH  .i,-o  din.,.|,..l  to  parti..s  n.f„si..K  to  acknowh-.l^r,,  u,,,  h^,.,„,  ,,,,„ 
i.-.su(..l  (In,  li,.k..|s,  ,vn.l  in  all  ll„.,so  cases  tho  emiKfant  Iosoh  tli«  mon.-y 
paid  (or  thfim.'  ^ 

A  prolil.'ihli^  fraud  is  not,  to  bo  Huppmsscd  without  much 
*lil1i<"iil(.v  ;  ai:d  (ucii  in  1857— uino  yoarH  iift(,r_wo  find  tho 
"iiquity  of  tlui  l)orr„s  ii^.Uet  in  lu^tivo  oporatiou.     In  a  ksttor 
adch-oss(Ml  to    tlio   S(U'rotary  of  Stato,    tlio   ConnnisHioiKn-H 
!i.ss(>rt  (hat   tho    ('ln(,f  o]„.iatoi>;   in   tliis   HVHtom   of  fraud 
have  not  only  opened  oiKces  hi  tlie  8(!veral*  seaports  wliere 
('iniorants  usuaUy  embark,  but  have  also  established  a^ren- 
I'lea  in  towns  in  the  interior  of  those  countries,  and  in  the 
vorv   villao(>a    ^yhcnwx^    families    are    likely   to    emij^rate-. 
^>^caudnio:  Hambur-  and  Brenien  from  their  observations, 
the   Commissioners   add   that    '  verv  many  of  those   from 
other  ports  arc  first  defrauded  of  their  means  by  being 


M,. 


1 

•3 

% 


It 
j 

.1 

4 

•■4 


i 


196 


TUE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


1? 
II 


induced  to  purcliaHo  tickctn  for  railroad  and  water  travel  iu 
this  conntry,  at  hij,di  prices,  wliicli,  when  presented  here, 
are  found  to  bo  either  quite  worthlcsH,  or  to  carry  tlio 
holders  to  some  poiut  in  the  interior  far  ahort  of  thciir 
destination,  where  they  are  loft  destitute.'  Mr.  Marcy,  in 
reply,  states  that  he  has  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the 
diplomatic  and  consular  agents  of  the  United  States  in 
those  countries  of  Europe  from  which  emigrants  chiefly 
proceed,  and  instructed  them  to  l)ring  the  subject  to  the 
notice  of  the  Governments  to  wliich  they  were  accredited, 
or  of  the  authorities  of  the  place  where  they  reside,  and 
to  ask  for  the  adoption  of  such  measures  '  as  may  be  re- 
quired by  the  claims  of  humanity  and  the  comity  of 
nations.' 

What  a  gauntlet  the  helpless  emigrant  had  to  run  before 
he  was  fairly  on  the  road  to  his  hmd  of  promise  !  Many 
were  strong  enough  to  break  through,  or  fortunate  enough 
to  slip  through,  this  net-work  of  fraud  ;  but  it  may  well  be 
doubted  if,  for  some  years  at  least,  those  so  strong  or  so 
fortunate  were  the  greater  number,  It  is  lamentably  true, 
that  many,  many  thousands  had  their  wings  so  effectually 
clipped — nay,  so  utterly  plucked  were  they  by  the  patriotic 
gentlemen  with  the  green  neckties,  or  the  ladies  with  the 
green  ribands,  that  they  could  not  get  beyond  New  York, 
into  which,  though  perhaps  altogether  unsuited  to  the  life 
of  a  city,  the  miserable  victims  of  heartless  fraud  and  piti- 
less robbery  sank  down  to  a  lot  of  hardship,  it  might  be  of 
degradation  and  of  ruin.  It  is  heart-rending  to  think  of 
the  tremendous  consequences  of  these  systematic  villanies, 
and  to  reflect  how  thousands  of  people  were  thus  fatall} 
arrested  on  their  way  to  places  specially  suited  to  their 
industry,  and  where,  most  probably,  after  the  usual  proba- 
tionary hard  work,  they  would  have  established  themselves 
in  comfort  and  indep  .nJeiice.  Better  for  many  of  them, 
old  and  young,  the  hvfi— si-irited  boy  and  the  innocent  girl, 


tiiCy  uad  become  the  prey  of  the  sharks  of  the  deep, 


r\  i 


iter  travel  iu 
aented  horo, 
to  carry  tho 
.ort  of  thoir 
[r.  Marcy,  iu 
lottcr  to  tlio 
)d  States  ill 
raiitw  chiefly 
hjef't  to  tho 
t)  accredited, 
reside,  and 
I  may  be  re- 
)   comity   of 

o  run  before 
lise !  Many 
nate  enouj^h 
mav  well  be 
strong  or  so 
jntably  true, 

0  effectually 
the  patriotic 
ies  with  the 

1  New  York, 
d  to  the  life 
ad  and  piti- 
miglit  be  of 

to  think  of 
,tic  villanies, 
thus  fatall} 
;cd  to  their 
Lsual  proba- 
l  themselves 
ny  of  them, 
mocent  girl, 
A  the  deep, 


now  TUK  'OUTLAWS'  RESiSTED  REFORM. 


m 


than  that  they  had  fallen  into  the  clutches  ol  the  sharks  of 
the  land.* 

At  length,  in  1855,  tho  Commi.ssionGrs  succeeded  iu 
CBtabhshing  Castlo  Garden  as  the  lan(iiug-placo  for  all 
emigrants  arriving  at  New  York  ;  and  among  other  benefits 
wliich,  in  thoir  report  of  that  year,  they  enumerate  as 
resulting  from  the  jwssession  of  this  grand  convenience, 
they  include  'the  dinpcrdon  of  a  hand  of  outlaws,  at- 
Iraclcd  to^  this  por^  by  plunder,  from  all  parts  of  the 
earth.'  Tho  outlaws'  were  perhaps  not  so  effectually 
dispersed  as  the  Cummissioners  fondly  imagined  them  to 
be;  for  po  persistent  were  the  attacks  upon  tho  system 
estabhshed  at  vHastle  Garden  — attacks  made  generally 
through  tho  public  press— that  the  Grand  Juiy  of  tho 
County  of  New  York  was  formally  appealed  to.  Nominally 
investigating  certain  charges  made  against  the  employees 
of  the  railway  companies  doing  business  in  Castle  Garden, 
the  Grand  Inquest  really  enquired  into  the  entire  system ; 
and  the  result  of  that  timely  investigation  was  of  the  ut- 
most consequence,  in  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  confounding  their  interested  maligners. 

'  On  inquiry,'  they  said,  '  into  the  causes  of  certain  piiblislied  attaclcs 
on  the  Emlguant  Landing  Dep6t,  the  Grand  Inquest  have  become 
Batisfled  tliat  tliey  emanate,  in  the  first  instance,  from  tho  very  in- 
.orested  parties  against  whoso  depredations  Castlo  Garden  affords  pro- 
tection to  the  emigrant,  and  who  are  chiefly  runners  in  the  employ 
of  booking-agents,  boarding-house  keepers,  and  others,  who  have  lost 
custom  by  the  establishment  of  a  central   dep6t,   where   the  railway 

Tho  following,  from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Veie  Foster,  to  which  reference  has 
aircady  been  made,  represents  the  state  of  things  existing  in  1850.  and  while 
exhibiting  the  terrible  injury  inflicted  on  the  inexperienced  and  defenceless 
emigrant,  affords  a  conclusive  testimony  in  favour  of  an  official  landing-place, 
where  passengers  arriving  at  New  York  could  be  protected  from  those  who  regarded 
them  as  their  lawful  prey:— 

'  3rd  December.— A  few  of  the  passengers  were  taken  ashore  to  the  hospital  at 
'  Statcn  Island,  and  M'e  arrived  alongside  the  quay  at  New  York  this  afterncon. 
'T/ie  900  passengers    dispersed   as .  usual    among    tht  various  fleecing    Iwkscs,    to   be 
•partiallij  or  entirely  disabled  for  pursuing  their  ^••a1).-,V,  into  thf  interior  in  search  qf 
'  employment.' 


'>9 

.1 


I 


198 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


coinpiinicfj  Imvo  fiiclr  own  business  done  by  ibeir  owu  clerks,  withoul 
the  iiitcrvoiitioi)  of  i)aHf;i\g('-bn)kor.s,  i"tc. 

'This  cliiss  Iiiis  lliiowii  ^Mcut  (liniciiltics  in  tlio  way  of  the  proper 
<leveloj)inent  of  ufliiiis  in  Castle  Garden,  by  constiluling  a  noisy  c.ovvd 
outside  llu!  gates,  whose  bejiaviour  is  utt<'rly  lawless,  and  endangers 
the  personal  safety,  not  only  of  the  passengers  who  have  to  leave  the 
Castle  Garden  to  transact  business  in  th;;  city,  but  also  the  employees 
of  the  Landing  I)ep/^t,  and  of  individual  Commissioners  of  Emigra- 
tion, who  are  continually  insulted  in  the  public  grounds  surrounding 
the  depftt,  and  have  bt^en  obliged  to  carry  loaded  fire-arm  in  self- 
defence  against  the  violence  wliich  has  frequently  been  oftoretl  to 
them.' 

Tlio  Grand  Inquest,  after  administering  some  hard  hits 
to  the  local  authorities,  for  the  culpable  remissness  of  the 
police  in  preventing  the  disorders  which  they  describe,  thus 
conclude  : 

'Having  become  satisfied  that  the  Emigrant  Landing  Dep6t,  in  all 
its  operations,  is  a  blessing,  not  only  to  emigrants,  but  to  the  commu- 
nity at  large,  they  would  feel  remiss  in  the  i)erformance  of  a  sacred 
duly  if  they  failod  to  recommend  this  important  philanthropic  estab- 
lisliment  (o  the  fostering  care  of  the  municipal  authorities  ;  and  they 
had  dismissed  the  complaints  preferred  against  certain  employers  of 
the  Castle  Garden,  satisfied  that  they  are  not  sustained  by  law,  and 
have  tiieir  origin  in  a  design  to  disturb,  ratber  than  to  further,  the 
good  work  for  which  the  establishment  has  been  called  into  life  by  an 
Act  of  Legislature  of  April  1855.' 

This  triumphant  vindication  of  an  institution  which  is 
to  none  more  important  than  to  the  Irish  "who  seek  a  home 
in  America,  bears  the  signature— /Howell  Hoppock,  Fore- 
man of  Grand  Jury.' 

Yv^ith  a  full  knowledge  of  the  evils  with  which  the 
Commissioners  of  Emigration  had  to  contend,  we  shall  bo 
bc>ttcr  able  to  appreciate  the  leading  features  of  the  system 
pursued  at  Castle  Garden,  and  how  far  it  reahses  the  in- 
((^ntions  of  its  benevolent  founders. 

The  emigrant  nhip^^  drops  her  anchor  in  the  North  Eiver, 

*  It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  passatre  from  the  report  of  ISGfi— piililiahed 
in  1807— that  steamers  are  fast  driving  emigrant  sailing  ships  from  the  sea.  Con- 
sidering the  shortness  of  the  voyage,  and  the  generally  excellent  nature  of  the 


clerks,  withoul 

of  the  proper 
a  noisy  c.ovvd 
and  endangers 
3  to  leave  the 
the  employees 
rs  of  Eniigni- 
Is  siirroiindint>- 
'-arm  in  self- 
Jen   offoreu  to 

e  hard  hits 
siiCRs  of  the 
iscribo,  thus 

D('p6t,  in  all 
0  the  conimii- 
0  of  a  sacred 
thropic  estab- 
ies  ;  and  they 
employers  of 
by  law,  and 
)  further,  the 
iito  lil'e  by  an 

n  which  is 
leck  a  home 
30ck,  Fore- 

which  the 
we  shall  bo 
the  system 
ises  the  in- 

ortli  Eiver, 

tSGfi— piibliahf-d 

the  sea.    Con- 

;  nature  of  the 


THE  NEW  SYSTEM. 


109 


or  upper  part  of  the  Bay,  wliere  she  is  com^^ellea  to  await 
the  arrival   of  the   steamer   and   barge   beloiigiiig   to    the 
Commissioners,  by  which  passengers  and  their  baggage  are 
landed  at  the  wharf  of  Castle  Garden  ;  wliich  to  tie''  alien 
is  the  Gate  of  the  New  World— the  portal  through  wliich 
he  reaches  the  free  soil  of  America.     Passengers  and  their 
baggage  are  under  the  protection  of  the   Commissioners 
from  the  moment  they  are  thus  transferred  to  their  charge  ; 
and  though  the  brood  of  cheats  and  harpies  may  grind  their 
teetli^  with  rage  as  they  remember  the  time  when  they  were 
the  first  to  board  the  emigrant  ship,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
undisputed  right,  take  possession  of  her  freight,  hving  and 
inanimate,  they  know  that  their  anger  is  unavailing,  for 
tliat  tlieir  day  of   hcence  has  passed.     No  sooner  is  the 
sliip's  arrival  notified  at  Castle  Garden,  than  the  officer  on 
duty  obtains  at  the  proper  office  a  hst  of  the  passengers 
for  whom  letters,  or  remittances,  or  instructions,  have  been 
received  by  the  Commissioners  from  friends  who  expected 
their  arrival  by  that  vessel.     The  officer  boards  the  ship  in 
his  steamer  ;  and  the  first  thing  he  does  on  reaching  her 
deck  is  to  read  aloud  to  the  expectant  hundreds,  by  whom 
he  is  quickly  surrounded,  the  names  of  the  passengers  on 
his  list,  and   announce   that  letters,  or  news,  or  money, 
await  them  at  Castle  Garden.     Cheering  to  the  heart  of 
the  anxious  or  desponding  emigrant— probably  a  wife  who 
has  come  out  to  her  husband,  or  a  child  in  search  of  a 
parent—is   this  joyful  proclamation,  it  sounds  so  full  of 
welcome  to  the  new  home.*     Too  many,  perhaps,  feel  their 

* 

acrcmraodation  in  weUappointed  eteamers,  such  as  arc  at  present  employed  iu 
tlu!  passenger  trade,  this  is  a  revohitiou  not  to  be  regretted  :  — 

'  Hy  comparison  with    former  years  ft  is  shown  that  the  number  of  Kl^-amrr; 

landing   ijassengers  at  Castlo  Garden  has  increased  from  22.  brin-nng  5  1  1    m 

«.n,y.s.   i„  I85.i,   to  109   bringing  34/>47  passengers,   iu   18«0  T  to  95.    bri  .S 

•b'i)    .       ■^.•7'''''  '"  ^^"^  =  -^°  ^""'  ^""«'"-  2.^.843  p..„sengers    in  1802     to     70 

'      "^    ^n';  'inrn;.V%^r"'  l«<i=^  ;  to  ooy    bringing  81.794  passengers,  in  18r,i 

'm'iii^::{:^.'lr:i£,r'''''^''''  ^"  ''''■  ^"^^  '^  ^^  ^'^^^^'-^rs,  bringing 

*  A  coiiEiderablc    .sum,   amounting    to    107,000   dollars,  was   received  in  1866 
fcrougli  various  channels,  iu  anticipation  of  the  arrival  ot  intending  emigrants^ 


,  <ti 


1 

-A 
1 


i 


200 


TllK  IlilSH  IN  A.MIJUICA. 


inoro  jx)i<;ri!iu%  from 


isolation  or  iliolr  (liHii])]M)iui.iii(>iit  tlio 

ilu'i-u  l.cii.o    iu,  uonl  of  lov(s  ju)  si-u  of  wt'lcomo  to  liiiil 

tluur  arrival. 

T\w  passniHoi-s  aro  traiisforrod  to  the  Htcaiucr,  and  their 
baoo-aot,  to  the  l)aro-(,,  and  landed  at  CasUo.  (Jarden,  where 
their  nanu>H  and  divstinations  are  entered  in  a  book  Icept 
for  that  i)urpose.     In  tlie  hir-e  l.niUhn-  at  the  disposal  of 
the  (V)niiiiissionerH  the  endonintH  mny  obtain   tlie  lu.vnry 
of  a  thorouf^li  abhition,  ami  th(>  (!onifort  of  the  first  meal  ou 
solid  land  ;  and  (hose  who  Iiave  bronoht  ont  mouoy  with 
Iheni,  or  for  whom  their  friends  have  sent  r(>mittane(>s  in 
antieipation  of  their  arrival,  and  who  d(>sire  to  i)UHh  on- 
North,  Sonlh,  or  \\\>st  -maj  >\t  once  start  on  theii-  journe}'. 
Tlu^y    can    chniioe    tjunr   money    for   the   cnrrency  of   the 
conntry,  and  purchase  railway  tickets  to  any  part  of  the 
Unili'd  Stat(>^or  Canada,  and  do  so  wi(l»ont  J<oin<r  outside 
the  bnildino-,  or  rislvin..-  the  h)ss  of  its  sahitary  protecticm. 
They  and  their  baoo!i--e  aro  conveyed  to  iho  railway  depot, 
from  which  they  start  on  their  inland  journey,  fortunate 
indciul  in  not  havino-  a  single  feather  plucked  fnmi  their 
%vinj^-  by  watchful  har}>y. 

Of  many  important  and  valuable  d(>partments  of  this 
Landino:  Depot,  those  for  the  exchange  of  money  and  the 
sale  of  railway  or  steand)oat  tickets  are  not  the  least  impor- 
tant or  valuable.  In  the  exchange  dc^partment  various  na- 
tionalities are  represented;  and  for  a  small  perccMitage, 
sutlii'ient  to  renumerate  the  broker  without  oppressing  tlio 
emigrant,  l^nglish  and  Irish,  Germans,  Trench,  Swedes, 
Danes,  and  otlu>rs,  may  f)rocure  rehable  money—not  Hash 
notes— for  their  gold  and  silver  and  paper  currency.  The 
exchange  brokers  admitted  to  do  business  in  Castle 'Oarden 
are  men  of  respectability  ;  but  were  they  inclined  to  take 


md  ari>li,-d  to  tluir  forwarding.      The  amount  reotuvod  at  the   I  andin-   lent 
was  57,3;.')  dollars  ;    at  tho   oiVu-o  of   the    Irish   Kniigrant  Society.   21116  dollarn  • 

»t    the    OtWco    of    tho    CiMinmi    Siv<),.*v     '■"5  fil'V  •    linci  V.^:     -itK    »  ■  ' 

,      ,,,„,,  """ •'  "'■"'^^'  '   ws^iuob  otlicr  sums,  nmountJUj'  to 

about  4,000  dollars.  ^ 


«   »   5rW 


TIIK  DAYS  OF  BOGUS  TICKETS  GONK. 


201 


luiiitly  from 
iinio  to  liiiil 

V,  niul  their 

book  Icopt 
(lispo.sal  of 
tho  luxury 
rst  liioiil  on 
iiioii(>y  with 
littiuuH^H  in 

l)ush  on — 
LMr  j()urni>y. 
iH'.y  of  tho 
i);irt  of  tho 
in^'  outsido 
pvotcH'tion. 
way  (lc>p6t, 
,  fortunate 
from  th(>ir 

ta  of  this 
ey  and  tlio 
^ast  inipor- 
karious  na- 
lerconta^e, 
•esisinf>-  tho 
li,  Swe(hvs, 
-not  llasli 
nwy,  Tho 
tie  Garden 
3d  to  take 


1  aiuliii",'   I'ep.'t 

n.-2'26  dollurs  ; 

amountiug  ta 


ndvantaf^o  of  tl 


expnl.sion  would  be  tho   cert 


10  .simplicity  of  the  oiiiigrant,  their  prompt 


ill 


n   r(!«idt.      Hei-o  then,  in 


most  OHHontial   matter,  is  complete  pr(,tc(;ti'(Hra7rorded"to 
tho  inexperKiiiced  and  the  heli)le,ss. 

The  sale  of  railway  tic^kets,  thci   fruitful  sour(te  of  rob- 
bery and  actual  ruin   in  former  days,  is  entrusted  to  re- 
Kponsible  railway  a-ents,  over  whom   tho  Ccmimissioners 
as  in  duty  bound,  maintain  a  watchful  control,  necessary 
ratlier  to  prevent  delay  and  inconvenienc^e  to  the  emigrant 
than  to  protiict  him  a<.-ainst  positive  fraud.     It  is  tlu)  in- 
terest of  the  railway  companies  represented  in  this  bureau 
to  fulhl  their  en-an;(mients  with  honesty  and  hberality  •  as 
if  tlH^y  fail  to  do    so,   tho   Commissioners   have   sufficient 
power  to  brill-  them  to  their  senses.*     Of  bo-us  tickets 
there  need  be  no   apprehension  now,  as  in  former  times 
when  th(>y  W(u-e  sold  at  home  in  the  seaport  town,  and  even 
m  tho  country  villaf>e  ;  on  board-ship  durin-  the  voyage 
or  on  tho  wharves  and  in  the  streets  of  Now  York.     The 
movQ  loss  of  the   purchase-momiy  did   not  by  any  means 
represent  tho  infamy  of  the  fraud  or  the  magnitude  of  the 
evil.     Not  only  was  iho  individual  or  tho  family  eftectuaUy 
plundered,  but,  being  deprived  of  the  means  of  transport 
they  could  not  get  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  city  in  which 
they  first  set  foot,  and  thus  all  hopes  of  a  future  of  profit- 
nble  industry  were  lost  to  them  for  ever.     Tho  sale  of  rail- 
road tickets  in  Castle  Oarden  is  therefore  a  protection  of 
the  very  first  importance  to  the  emigrant. 

*Tl,o  Conunissiouers.  in  a  nicmorial    addressed    to  the  ^^euato  of  the  United 

State  ,  ,n  refc, onee  to  a  l.ill  b.foro  Congress,  dated  J.u.e  0,  1806,  refer  to  cause    of 

.»"l"...t  l.nu.Kh.  before  the.n  through  ono  of  their  oflieers.      Thev  say      a     al- 

r:::l:ir::  "T""'  '"*"""'  ^^^"^  in-egmarities  i„  connection  with  ^rl 
f.iUNot  vh.eh  theyh.Hve  reason  to  eon.pl.in,  they  are  assnred  an-i  believe  that  ill 
-uses  o  co,„pU,.t  had  been  rron.ptly  renK.ve.l.  The  Connnissioners  ar  .M 
conn>e,  those  who  avail  themselves  of  tho  privilege  of  «a,o  nnder  thei  ro o t'  o 
■t  >n  the  njost  loyal  ,uiM,,ss  to  th.nr  ehent.s  ;  but,  be  the  'irregularities'  wh  t 
they  njay,  hey  are  but  tri.Ung  indeed  when  contrasted  with  the  abonli^  ^^  ,.: ' 
-the  hagdK,us  robberies  at  both  sides  of  tho  AUantic-pructised  only  a  few  yeara 
since,  and  practised  with  almost  entire  impunity.  * 


0 

:1 


202 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


The  baggage  of  tlie  emigrant,  wliicli  had  been  so  long 
■  the  i^rey  of  the  lodging-house  keeper,  the  runner,  and  the 
'smasher,'  is  now  not  only  retained  in  safe  custody  in 
compartments  well  adapted  to  that  purpose,  but  is  fre- 
quently held  as  a  pledge  for  the  repayment  of  advances 
made  by  the  Commissioners  to  assist  their  ov/ners  to  pro- 
ceed on  their  intended  journey.  There  is,  however,  no 
charge  made  for  its  custody,  neither  is  interest  required  to 
be  paid  for  the  loan  or  advance.  I  have  seen  quantities  of 
boxes,  trunks,  and  packages  of  various  kinds,  duly  marked 
and  lettered,  and  safely  stowed  away,  to  be  kept  until  the 
owners  found  it  convenient  or  necessary  to  send  for  their 
effects,  or,  in  case  advances  had  been  made  on  their 
security,  until  they  were  in  a  position  to  redeem  them. 

This  plan  of  making  advances  on  the  security  of  the  bag- 
gage, or  portions  of  the  baggage  of  the  emigrant,  which 
protects  it  from  being  plundered,  and  enables  the  individual 
or  the  family  destined  for  the  interior  to  proceed  on  their 
route,  has  now  been  in  practice  fully  ten  years,  and  has 
been  attended  with  great  good.  The  advance  does  not  in 
any  case  exceed  a  few  dollars  ;  but  the  possession  or  the 
want  of  these  few  dollars  may,  at  such  a  moment,  deter- 
mine the  future  fate  of  an  entire  family.  In  their  report 
for  18G5,  the  Commissioners  bear  testimony  to  the  good 
which  these  advances  have  done.  Assistance  has  been  ren- 
dered to  many  who  might  otherwise  have  become  the  prey 
of  fraud,  or  have  fallen  into  destitution,  '  whilst,'  as  they 
state,  '  the  character  of  the  assistance  was  such  as  not  to 
lessen  the  feehng  of  independent  self-reliance.'  The  small 
amount  of  $112  was  advanced  in  185G  to  nineteen  fam- 
ilies, or  about  $G^  per  family.  This  had  been  punctually 
r(;paid.  The  total  amount  advanced  fi-om  August  185(>, 
when  the  system  was  first  adopted,  to  the  end  of  18G5,  was 
$23,215  ;  the  number  of  advances,  whether  to  individuals 
or  families,  being  2,394.  Of  this  amount,  there  remained 
unpaid  but  1,370. 


A  WORD  OF  ADVICE. 


203 


sen  so  long 
;er,  and  the 
custody  in 
but  is  fre- 
•f  advances 
3rs  to  pro- 
Lowever,  no 
required  to 
Liantities  of 
uly  marked 
)t  until  the 
d  for  their 
e  on  their 
them. 

of  the  bag- 
rant,  which 
3  individual 
sd  on  their 
.'s,  and  hag 
ioes  not  in 
sion  or  the 
lent,  deter- 
heir  report 
)  the  good 
s  been  ren- 
Qe  the  prey 
st,'  as  they 
L  as  not  to 

The  small 
.eteen  fani- 

punctually 
igust  185(>, 
:  18G5,  was 
individuals 
e  remained 


Another  important  department  may  be  described  as  the 
letter  or  correspondence  department,  the  value  of  which 
IS  becoming  every  year  more  fully  appreciated,  as  well  by 
emigrants  as  by  their  friends  in  America   and  at  home. 
Suppose  an  emigrant,  on  arrival  at  New  York,  to  be  witli- 
out  the  means  of  proceeding  inland,  or  disappointed  in  not 
receiving  a  communication  from  a  friend  or  member  of  his 
or  her  family,  a  letter,  announcing  the  person's  arrival,  and 
asking  for  assistance,  is  at  once  written  by  a  clerk  specially 
appointed  for  that  purpose  ;  and  in  very  many  cases  the 
appeal  so  made  is  promptly  responded  to,  and  the  emigrant 
IS  thus  enabled   to  proceed  onwards.     In  the  year  18G6 
there  were  nearly  3,000  such  letters  written,  stamped,  nnd 
posted,  free  of  aU  charge  to  the  parties  interested.     Of  these 
letters  2,516  were  written  in  English,  the  balance  in  Ger- 
man  and  other   languages.     The  value  of  this  admirable 
system  may  be   shown  by  the   fact,   that  the   amount   of 
money  received  in  186G,  in  reply  to  letters  from  the  Land- 
ing Depot  for  recently  arrived  emigrants,  and  applied  to 
their  forwarding,  was  $24,385. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  that  attention   should 
here  be  directed  to  what  has  been,  and  must  ever  be,  a 
source  of  bitter   disappointment,   if  not  of    the    greatest 
affliction  to  individuals  and  famihes ;  namely,  the  misdirec- 
tion of  letters,  owing  to  the  habit  of  not  giving  the  fuU 
address,  or  the  custom  common  with  Irish  women  of  the 
humbler  class,  of  calling  themselves  by  their  maiden  instead 
of    their   married  names.     It  would   be   an    act   of  great 
humanity  on  the  part  of  those  who  o.e  in  a  position  to 
advise  the  emigrant,  or  the  friends  of  the  emigrant,  whether 
at  home   or  in  America,  to   see   that  names  are   written 
accurately,    and   that   addresses,    especially  American,  are 
given  fully-that  is,  that  the  city,  county,  or  State,  should 
be  mentioned ;  and  lastly,  that  the  envelope,  which  bears 
the  post  mark  on   it,  should  be   retained  as  well  as  the 
letter.     An  instance  or  two  in  point,  and  which  I  select 


.3 

■4 


i 
1 


4 

i 


204 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


out  of  many,  will  exbibit  the  necessity  of  this  advice  being 
attended  to  at  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

Mary  Siilhvan  has  come  to  America  in  search  of  her 
husband.  Having  somo  vague  notion  of  his  whereabouts, 
lotters  are  despatched  to  various  persons  in  the  direction 
supposed  to  be  indicated.  No  such  person  as  Daniel  Sul- 
livan, 'who  came  to  America  four  years  ago,'  is  to  be 
found.  Poor  Mary  Sullivan  is  in  despair.  But  at  length, 
owing  to  some  chance  observation  which  drops  from  the 
afflicted  wife,  it  turns  out  that  Sullivan  was  her  maiden 
name,  and  that  her  husband  was  Daniel  M'Carthy,  and  not 
Daniel  Sullivan.  Letters  are  again  despatched,  and  Daniel 
and  Mary  are  once  more  united. 

A  woman  arrives  with  her  family.  She  has  a  letter 
from  her  son  in  Washington,  or  Jacksonville,  or  Newtown, 
and  she  desires  to  inform  him  that  she  is  in  New  York, 
awaiting  him.  There  is  his  letter,  and  she  can  tell  no 
more  about  it ;  all  she  knows  is,  that  her  son  is  in  the  place 
mentioned  ;  and  '  why  shouldn't  he  be  there,  she'd  like  to 
know?'  But  what  Washington  ?  what  Jacksonville?  what 
Newtown?  There  are  hundreds  of  places  with  similar 
names  in  tlie  United  States ;  and  which  is  it  ?  Where,  she 
is  asked,  is  the  envelope  of  the  letter ;  for  that  would  have 
the  post  mark,  which,  if  not  obliterated  or  indistinct,  would 
be  the  best  of  all  possible  guides.  *  Oh,  sure,'  the  simple 
woman  replies,  '  I  lost  that :  but  there  was  nothing  on  that 
but  where  I  lived  when  I  was  in  Ireland  ;  sure  'tis  all  in  my 
son's  letter.'  The  enveloj)e  lost,  and  there  being  no  address 
in  the  letter,  the  Commissioners  have  to  communicate  with 
all  the  Washingtons,  or  J  acksonvilles,  or  Newtowns  in  the 
country  ;  and  probably  it  is  owing  to  the  enquiries  of  the 
priest  of  the  locality  in  which  the  son  resides  or  is  at  work 
that  the  family  are  ultimately  brought  together. 

A   young   woman,   Ellen    T ,    arrived    early  in    the 

present  year,  to  join  her  brother,  who  was  in  a  certain 
town  in  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  wrote  to  her.  She  was 
sent  to  Ward's  Island,  and  her  brother  was  written  to.     No 


idvice  being 

i,rch  of  her 
hereabouts, 
le  direction 
Diuiiel  Siil- 
,'  is  to  be 
t  at  length, 
>fi  from  the 
her  maiden 
ly,  and  not 
and  Daniel 

as  a  letter 
'  Newtown, 
New  York, 
3an  tell  no 
n  the  place 
le'd  like  to 
ville?  what 
ith  similar 
Where,  she 
would  have 
inct,  would 
the  simple 
ng  on  that 
is  aU  in  my 
no  address 
nicate  with 
wns  in  the 
Ties  of  the 
is  at  work 

.'ly  in    the 

a   certain 

She  was 

en  to.     No 


WOItKING  OF  THE  SYSTEM.  205 

aiiswer     Another  letter  was  sent,  but  with  the  same  result. 

The   sister  IS  safe  in   the  Refuge  at  Ward's  Island,  but 

anxious  and  impatient.  Time. passes-stiU  no  tidings.  At 
length  she  abandons  aU  hope  of  finding  her  brother,  and 
determines  to  do  something  for  herself;  and  actually  as 
she  IS  eavmg  the  office  with,  this  intention,  the  brother 
makes  his  appearance.  What  was  the  cause  of  the  delay  9 
His  explanation  is  simple  enough-he  had  left  the  place 
from  which  he  had  written  to  his  sister  and  gone  to  ano- 
ther place,  and  'he  hadn't  the  gumption  '  to  leave  his  new 
address  with  the  postmaster. 

Shortly  before  I  left   New  York  an  instance   occurred 
which  impressed  me  with  the  value  of  the  present  system 
under  which  such  care  is  taken  of    the   interests  of  the 
emigrants.     A  young  girl  arrived  out  by  a  certain  steamer, 
and  being  taken  sick  of  fever  was  sent  to  the  hospital  at 
Ward  s  Island.     She  said  her  father  was  in   Boston,  but 
she  did  not  know  his  address.     Her  father,  expecting  her 
arrival    telegraphed  to  the  agents  in  New  York,  enquiring 
If  his  daughter  had  come.     The  agents,  whether  ignorant 
or  careless,  rephed  by  telegraph-' No.'     The  father    not 
satisfied  with  the  answer,  wrote  to  the  Commissioners  of 
Emigration,   and  they  at   once   notified  to  him  that  his 
daughter  had  arrived,  and  was  then  in  hospital  at  Ward's 
Island.     He   started  from  Boston  without  delay;    and  I 
had  the  assurance  of  the   admirable  physician  by   whom 
she  was  attended,*  that  the  interview  with  her  father  saved 
the  daughter's  hfe,  which  was  at  the  time  in  danger 

Innumerable  cases  might  be  given  in  proof  of  the 
mconvenience  and  suflfering-oftentimes  the  gravest  in- 
jury-entailed on  emigrants,  especiaUy  young  girls,  through 
this  neglect  of  sending  the  address  accurately  and  fnUy 
and  retaming  it  when  received ;  also  of  women  givin.^ 
their  maiden  instead  of  their  married  name ;  of  not  havinr. 

*Dr.   John  Dwycr,  a  true-hearted  and  kin.llv  Tri«),»,«n    who  was  c-p   -f  fi 
miluary  Burgeons  attached  to  Corcoran'skishLogion:  '^' 


i 
J 


i 


206 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


the  uame  written  distinctly,   and   of 


saying  the  name  ia 


Olloily  when  it  is  Eiley,  or  Donnelly  when  it  is  O'DouncL. 
]\Iistakes,  jjerhaps  apparently  triHing,  are  quite  sufficient  to 
keep  the  nearest  and  dearest  relatives  apart,  and  dein-ive 
the  young  and  inexperienced  girl  of  the  much-needed 
protection  of  a  brother  or  a  father. 

The  titles  by  which  the  General  Superintendent  is 
addressed  are  very  varied.  At  one  time  he  is  styled  '  The 
Mayor  of  Castle  Garden,'  at  another  '  The  Commander,'  at 
another  *  The  Keeper,'  and  not  unfrequently  '  Head  Gene- 
.  ral!'  The  mistake  of  '  Blackbird's  Island  for  'BlaclnveU's 
Island,  in  which  there  is  a  penitentiary,  is  not  altogether 
inappropriate ;  but  that  of  mistaking  ji  General  officer  for 
a  Police  officer  was  much  more  serious,  as  witness  the 
following : — 

Two  countij-y  girls,  recently  arrived  from  '  Sweet  Tippe- 
rary,'  with  the  painting  of  nature  on  their  healthy  cheeks, 
received  from  one  of  the  clerks  a  written  card  bearing  the 
address  of  their  friends  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  and 
were  directed  to  apply  for  information  on  their  way  to  the 
first  policeman  they  met;    and  one  of    these  blue-coated 
brass-buttoned    dignitaries,    on    duty   at   the   Depot,    was 
pointed   out   to   them  for  their    guidance.     'Thank  your 
lix)nour  kindly,  we'll  be  sure  not  to  mistake  the  peUiccman 
when  we  want  him,'  said  £he  rosiest,  who  did  all  the  talking. 
It  was  at  the  early  part  of  the  war,  when  the  streets  were 
full  of  blue  Federal  uniforms.     The  two  country  girls  set 
off  rejoicing,  but  had  not  been  gone  many  minutes  when 
they  were  back  again,  out  of  breath  and  greatly  flurried. 
'Well,'   said   the   clerk,   Mvhat  brings  you  back?'      'Oh, 
sure  your  honour,  we  did  just  as  your  honour  tould  us.' 
We  went  up  the  wide  sthreet  ye  call  Broadway,  and  when 
we  kern  to  the  big  church  beyant,  with  the  cross  on  it, 
.sure  there  we  saw  a  gintleman  with  a  blue  coat  and  gould 
buttons,  and  a  cocked  hat  on  his  head,  and  a  fine  feather 
in  it,   and  a  swoord   by   his  side;  and   Mary  and  meself 


the  name  ia 
8  O'DouiioU. 
suffi(ricnt  to 
and  doin-ivo 
aucli-needed 

intendent  i« 
styled  'The 
Lmander,'  at 
Bead  Gene- 
'  BlackweU's 
t  altogether 
al  officer  for 
witness  the 

weet  Tippe- 
thy  cheeks, 
bearing  the 
he  city,  and 

way  to  the 
blue-coated 
Depot,  was 
'hank  your 

pelliccman 
the  talking-, 
fcreets  were 
ry  girls  set 
lutes  when 
ly  flurried, 
k?'  'Oh, 
•   tould   UR. 

and  when 
!ross  on  it, 

and  gould 
ine  feather 
md  meself 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  LABOUR  DEPARTMENT.  207 

thought  ho  must  be  the  head  of  all  the  Pellice.  So  we 
made  bould  to  tell  that  your  honour  tould  us  to  ax  him 
which  was  the  way  to  the  third  Avany  cars,  and  sure  ho 
tould  us  to  "  go  to  the  Divil  "—so  wo  kem  straight  back 
to  your  honour.'  The  clerk,  who  was  a  good  judge  of  a 
joke,  looked  steadily  at  the  speaker ;  but  she  seemed 
utterly  unconscious  of  having  perpetrated  a  hon  mot. 

There  is  another  department  at  Castle  Garden,  which 
has  proved  of  immense  advantage  to  emigrants  of  both 
sexes— an  Intelligence  Office  and  Labour  Exchange.  For- 
tunately for  the  interests  of  those  who  desire  to  employ  and 
to  be  employed,  this  is  becoming  every  day  better  known, 
and  consequently  more  generally  availed  of  ;  and  through 
its  operation  employment  is  obtained  for  all  kinds  of 
labour,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  domestic.  There 
arc  two  such  offices  in  the  building,  one  for  men  and  the 
other  for  women.  A  register,  which  I  had  the  opportunity 
of  examining,  is  carefully  kept,  in  which  the  names  of 
persons  requiring  employment,  or  wanting  to  employ 
hands,  are  entered  ;  and  in  which,  .in  case  of  hiring,  all 
necessary  particulars  are  likewise  set  down.  This  register 
is  tluis  not  only  a  m^ans  of  affording  useful  information 
respecting  individiials  to  fi-iends  who  seek  intelhgence  of 
them,  but  alsc  '  'protection  to  the  parties  employed  ;  inas- 
nmch  as  if  tue  >er   violates   his   contract — which  is 

embodied  in  his  p'  ■"  -he  may  be  sued  on  the  part  of 

the  Commissioners,  ..•  >vhom  the  emigrant  is  an  object  of 
official  care  for  five  years  after  his  or  her  landing  at  New 
York.  It  frequently  happens  that,  through  the  operation 
of  this  bureau,  persons  are  enabled  to  procure  employment 
on  landing,  and  go  off  at  once  to  those  who  hired  them  by 
anticipation.  But  it  must  be  understood  that  the  chances 
of  employment  are  generally  more  in  favour  of  females  than 
of  nitdes  ;  and  that  they  are  terribly  against  the  latter, 
if  they  come  out  at  a  wrong  season — which  is  towards 
iiii)  Autumn,  and  all  through  the  Winter.     The  girl  or 


3 


'igtf 


:=1 


m 

.1 
J 


i 


208 


THE  miSII  IN  AMKRICV. 


woman,  assuminpr  that  slio  desires  to  work  and  is  capable 
of  it,  iiiiiy  conio  out  at  any  season  of  the  year,  Winter  or 
Siininier;    but   the   man  who  looks  for  out-door  employ- 
ment should  come  out  when  the  Spring  work  u  openinrj—cer- 
tainhj  not  sooner  than   March,  or  later  than    October.      The 
total    nmjil)er   of    males    provided    with  employment   last 
yeaT-—18(5G— through  the  Intelligence   Office   and  Labour 
Exchange,  Castle  Garden,  was  2,191  ;    of   females  6,303  ; 
of    both    sexes,    through    the  Commissioners'    agents,    at 
Buffalo,  Albany,  and  Rochester,  1,289  ;    and  at  the  office 
of  the  German  Society  in  New  York,  988— making  in  aU 
10,771.  . 

I  saw  a  number  of  women  and  girls,  generally  young, 
in  a  large  apartment  of  the  building,  employed  in  knit- 
tmg  or  sewing,  waiting  to  be  hired  for  various  purposes, 
whether  in  factories,  in  stores,  or  in  domestic  occupations! 

One  of  the  latest  improvements  in  the  Emigration  Depot 
at  Castle  Garden  is  its  direct  connection  by  teleo-raph 
with  every  part  of  the  United  States  and  the  British°Pro- 
vmces ;  so  that  an  emigrant,  on  landing,  may  at  once 
communicate  with  expecting  fidends  in  any  part  of  North 
America. 

Having  referred  to  some  of  the  most  salient  features  of 
the  estabhshment  at  Castle  Garden,  I  may  briefly  glance 
at  Ward's  Island,  which   rs   the  crowning  feature   of  the 
whole,  combining  everything  necessary  for  the    care    and 
comfort  and  protection  of  the  stranger  which  enhghtened 
benevolence  and  practical  experience  could  suggest?  or  the 
most  liberal  expenditure  could  provide.     When  one  remem- 
bers the  bed  of  broken  straw,  the  rotten  flour,  the  decayed 
vegetables,  the  putrid  meat,  speciaUy  procured  for  the  sick 
cnngrants  of   1847  and  18-18,  by  the  shipbrokers  of  that 
day,  one  may  weU  invoke  a  blessing  on  the  noble-hearted 
men  to  whoso  humanity,  courage,  and  perseverance  the  ex- 
isting system  is  mainly  due. 

Removed,  by  its  insular  position,  from  all  contact  with 


MISS  NKJIITINGAr.EVS  OPIXION. 


209 


cl  is  capable 
I',  Winter  or 
oor  employ- 
qxniing — cer- 
•luhcr.  TliG 
oymeiit  last 
xiul  Labour 
lales  G,303  ; 
ap^onts,  at 
it  the  ofiifio 
akiiig  in  all, 

•ally  young, 
ed  in  knit- 
is  purposes, 
)ccuiiations. 
ition  Depot 
y  telegraph 
>ritisli  Pro- 
ay  at  once 
L't  of  North 


features  of 
iefly  glance 
ire  of  the 
care  and 
snlightened 
•est,  or  the 
ne  remem- 
le  decayed 
•r  the  sick 
rs  of  that 
)le-hoartcd 
ce  the  ex- 

iitact  with 


the  city,  its  shores  washed  by  the  cver-nioving  tide  of  tho 
Sound,  lies  Ward's  Island,  110  acres  of  which  arc  now  in 
possession  of  tho  Commissioners,  and  devoted  to  the  varied 
purposes  of  the  institution.     The  stranger  is  astonished  at 
beholding  the  splendid  groups  of  buildings  that,  as  it  were 
crown  the  island— asylums,  refugees,  schools,  hospitals  ;  the 
latter  for  surgical,  medical,  and  contagious  cases.     These 
buildings  wore  capable  last  year  of  accommodatuig  more 
than  1,500  persons,  and  they  are   added  to  according  to 
the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Com.ussioTK     On  the  10th 
of  August,  18(54  was  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  an  hos- 
pital with  accommodation  for  500  patients  ;  which  hospital 
designed  and  furnished  with  all  the  latest  improvements,' 
IS  admitted  by  competent  judges— including  Miss  Night- 
ingale^"- to  bo  one  of  tho  most  complete  in  the  workL     I 
visited   this    hospital    in   March,   1807,   and    though    not 
quahfied  to  pronomice  an  opinion  which  would  be  of  any 


*  Mi88  Nife'htingalo  addressed  the  following  Icttcr-to  tho  General  Agent  :- 

•  32,  South  street,  Park  Lane,  Loudon,  w.  : 
bin.— I  have  extreme  pleasure  in  acknowledging  you.  kind  note  of  Fehrnarv  o<> 

on',"  "  '  ''°'""  '"'"«  '°  ''°'  "•    """'1  ""■'"  »b,iiWI„B_i,ol  tor  joui-  poor,   but 

•  Your  most  faithful  and  grateful  servant, 

Bernari  Casscrly,  Esq..  General  Agent  Commissioner 
of  Emigration,  N,  Y. ' 


.1 

4 


i 


210 


Tin:  IRISH  in  amhuica. 


pi'Mcticiil  valuo,  I  cannot  rofriiin  from  oxpressinj?  tlio 
udminitiou  with  which  I  buhoU  mo  noblo  an  inntitntion, 
(Mpial  in  exory  respect  to  tho  boHt  I  had  soon  in  London, 
lionie,  PariH,  or  Vionna  ;  and,  from  its  peculiar  position,  es- 
pecially its  entire  isolation  from  other  buildinjjrs,  and  boiu'>- 
erected  on  an  island,  more  favourable  to  the  treatment 
and  recovery  of  the  patient  than  any  hospital  in  a  j,a*oat 
city.  The  Commissioners  have  been  careful  to  provide  an 
uidimited  supply  of  th(i  pure  Croton  for  the  inmates  of  the 
difforent  establishments  under  their  charjife  ;  and  to  another 
essential  recpiisito  of  health— a  thorough  systcuu  of  drainage 
and  sowera<,ni— they  have  devoted  considerable  attention. 
The  result  is  a  low  rate;  of  mortality  in  hosi)ital  and  asylum, 
among  infants  and  adults;  which  contrasts  most  favourably 
with  institutions  of  a  similar  nature,  but  not  enjoying  tho 
special  advantages  that  distinguish  those  of  Ward's  Island, 
Tlie  stati;  surgical  and  medical,  is  eipial  t(j  the  necessity, 
and  consists  of  men  eminent  in  their  different  branches  of 
the  healing  art. 

It  may  be  interesting  t9  contrast  tho  number  of  persona, 
patients  or  inmates,  at  Ward's  Island  on  tho  30th  o  June, 
18G7,  with  the  number  at  tho  corresponding  periods  ;:>f  tho 
three  previous  years.  It  proves  two  things— the  inc  "sased 
demand  on  the  resources  of  the  institution  ;  also  tho  diffi- 
culty of  procuring  employment,  arising  not  only  from  the 
continued  overcrowding  of  New  York,  but  from  the  ina- 
bility of  these  emigrants  to  push  on  to  the  West.  The 
total  number  of  inmates  in  18G4,  while  tho  war  was 
raging,  was  1,000.  In  1805  it  fell  to  851.  But  since  then 
the  number  has  been  seriously  added  to.  In  18GG  it  was 
1,251,  and  on  the  30th  of  June,  18G7,  it  rose  to  1,428. 
The  number  of  able-bodied  working  men  on  the  island, 
at  a  time  when  the  best  chances  of  employment  are  offered 
to  those  inclined  to  work,  is  still  more  significant.  In  18i)4 
the  number  was  42  ;  in  18G5  it  fell  to  34  ;  in  185G  it  rose 
to  100;  and  in  18G7  it  was  as    high   as   ±28.      The   sick 


NRCESSITV  FOR  UNCKASINO  VIGIf.ANCE. 


211 


isainpf 


the 
iiislitiition, 
n  Loiuloii, 
oHition,  os- 

aml  being 

trcatmeut 
in  !i  groat 
provide  an 
itcs  of  the 
to  aiiotlior 
if  drainage 

attention, 
id  aHyliun, 
favourably 
joying  the 
d's  iHlaiid, 

necessity, 
•anches  of 

f  persona, 
11  o  June, 
ods  :)f  the 

inc  lased 
I  the  diffi- 

from  the 
1  the  ina- 
est.      The 

war  was 
since  then 
8GG  it  was 

to  1,428. 
he  island, 
ire  oflfered 
In  18ii4 
56  it  rose 
The   sick 


average  ut  least  GOO,  the  balance  conf^isting  of  women  and 
children. 

There  Liay  bo  other  features  of  this  unpaid  Oi/mniission 
to  which  I  should  have  referred,  inasmuch  as  it  has  alVorded 
to  the  whole  country  an  example  of  what  practical  benevo- 
lence and  public  spirit  are  capable  of  accomi)lishing  ;  but 
other   subjects   of  interest   demand   my   attention.     It  is, 
however,  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  active  att(uition  of 
Congress  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has 
been  directed  to  the  protection  of  foreign  emigrants,  and 
that  an  offici(>nt  organisation  may  be  expected  in  the  most 
important  of  the  seaports.     From  the  rei)ort  of  tho  Govern- 
ment Commissioner  of  Emigration,  i)res(aited  to  Congress 
on  the  28th  of  re])ruary,  18GG,  one  may  learn  how  forinida- 
ble  is  the  evil  against  which  it  is  necessary  to  combat  with 
unabated  energy,  as  well  for  the  protectioi'i  of  the  helpless 
stranger,  as  for  the  interests  and  tho  honour  of  tho  great 
country   to  which,  from   many  motive's  and  causes,  he   is 
attracted.      Tho    Government    Connnissionor    states    that 
upon  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  ollice  lie  found  him- 
self in  conflict  with  a  host  of  persons  who  had  been  long 
accustomed,  in  the  various  ports,  to  prey  upon  the  immit 
grant.     Companies,   boards,    and  agencies,  with   sounding 
titles  and    Jiigh   professions,   were  ready   to   deceive    and 
plunder  him   at  every  turn,  and  it  required  prompt  and 
decisive  action  to  meet  this  great  and  growing  evil.     Many 
organisations,  proper  in  themselves,  but  representing  special 
mterests,  were  simply  subserving  their  own  plans  and  the 
views  of  some  single  locality,  regardless  of  the  welfare  of 
the  immigrant.     He  states  that  through  the  appointment 
of  a  superintendent  at  New  York,  his  bureau  has  boon 
enabled  to  break  up  many  swindling  agencies  with   their 
runners,    and    protect  thousands   of    emigrants;    and    he 
adds  :  '  This   work,  however,  never  ceases.     New  schemes 
of  fraud  spring  up  whenever  occasion  offers,  .and  they  re- 
quire continued  vigilance  to  suppress  them.'  The  'passenger 


*1 


M 


m 

.1 


i 


213 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA, 


laws '  would  appear,  from  tins  report,  to  be  systemuti(3ally 
violated,  indeed  boldly  set  at  defiance  ;  and  more  stringent 
powers  are  dejnanded  for  tluir  enforcement.* 

It  is  satisfactory  to  perceive  that,  at  least  up  to  the  time 
of  the  publication  of  the  report  in  question,  the  policy  of 
the  Government  Bureau  of  Emigration  was  to  act  in  har- 
mony with  the  unpaid  Commission  in  New  York  ;  and  for 
the  interests  of  humanity  I  may  venture  to  express  an 
earnest  hope  that  no  change,  however  apparently  beneficial, 
may  have  the  effect— the  fatal  effect— of  interfering  with 
the  operation  or  impairing  the  efficiency  of  an  organisa- 
tion which  has  rendered  inestimable  services  to  the  poor, 
the  feeble,  the  unprotected,  and  in  a  special  degree  to  those 
of  the  Irish  race.  The  words  of  Florence  Nightingale, 
when  acknowledging,  in  18GG,  the  annual  Reports  which 
had  been  sent  to  her,  may  fittingly  conclude  this  branch  of 
my  subject  :    '  These  Reports  are  most  business-hke.     They 

•  testify  to.  an  amount  of  benevolent  and  successful  efforts 
'on  behaK  of  the  over-crowded  old  States  of  Europe  of 

*  wliich  America  may  well  be  j)roud.'  f 

*  The  Commissioner  thus  reports  on  this  important  point  :— 

'In  order  to  ascertain  such  violations,  it  was  found  necessary  to  appoint  two 
officers,  with  the  consent  of  tlie  Secretary  of  State,  «hose  dutj-  it  should  be  to 
board  every  immigrant  .hip,  and  report  to  the  superintendent  whether  the  nro^ 
Visions  of  the  -passenger  acts"  had  in  each  ease  been  complied  with  ^^he 
importance  of  tins  course  will  bo  felt  when  it  is  stated  that  the  s  peril,  endent 
reports  to  tins   bureau  tbat  of  the  ships  which  arrived  at  New  Yo^k  s  nee    ho 

AUof    I860,    for  the    hetUir  j,ro',-cu,m  of  fnuile    p.'ss.vgos.      One  hundred  and 

eighteen  complaints  were  brought  beforb  liiin,  which  he  was  dhectec    to  reiser  to 

the  Ij lilted  Kates' district  attorney,  under  whose  advice  he  dismissed  such  as  he 

was  satisfied  were  caused  by  ignorance  of  the  law,  and  where  no  iSry  had  been 

Biistamed  by  the  immigrant.    Even  where   the  inju.y  liad  been  grosi^   e  siiper 

Mtendent  tound  a  successful  pros.cution  almost  inipossible  under  the  condition  of 

the  law  and  his  own  limited  powers.     Under  the  existing  laws  it  is  m-cesf^irv  that 

he  complainant  institute  a  suit  against  the  master,   owner,  or  coi^ignce  of    ho 

he  ciiS      Belief.  <f'n   ^''"°  ""^  knowledge,   ability,   time,  or  means:  and  fewS 

ttic  coinage.     Besides,  the  imm-igrant  cannot  remain  for  the  purposes  of  nrosecu- 

tion.     Ihe  remedy  for  this  seems  to  be  in  a  change  of  the  laws.'  prosteu- 

t  One  of  the  most  recent  cases  on  record  is  the  worst  that  has  been  for  many 
years  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  puWic.  It  was  of  the  ship  '  Giuseppe  Baccariel  ' 
which  arrived  in  New  York  on  July  20,  18G7,  from  Antwerp,  where  she  was 
chartered  by  A.  Straus  &  Co.  The  emigrants-180  in  number-wero  Germans 
and  German  Swiss.  Eighteen  persons  died  on  the  passage,  and  two  more  imme- 
diately after  arrival.  Tlie  emigrants  complained  to  the  ( ommissioners  that  they 
were  short  of  provisions;  that  the  water  was  not  drinkable,  being  kept  in  petr^ 


THE  LAST  CASE  ONE  OF  THE  WORST. 


213 


temati(3ally 
Q  stringent 

o  the  time 
)  policy  of 
let  in  liar- 
:  ;  and  for 
xpress  an 
beneficial, 
ering  with 
organisa- 
the  poor, 
3e  to  those 
Lghtingale, 
n'ts  which 
branch  of 
ke.  They 
fill  efforts 
'Europe  of 


I  appoint  two 
should  be  to 
tlier  the  pro- 
l  with.  The 
iipcrinteiidcnt 
ork  since  tlio 
orisions  of  the 
hundred  aud 
d  to  refer  to 
d  sncli  as  he 
iry  had  been 
«s,  the  super- 
;  condition  of 
lecessary  that 
sijfnce  of  the 
IS,  and  fewer 
3  of  proseeu- 


Uum  casks;  that  there  was  neither  tea  nor  sugar  on  board;  and  that  the  potatoes 
were  rotten.  The  Commissioners  instituted  an  inquiry,  which  resulted  in  provi.K. 
the  truth  of  all  the  charges;  to  which  might  be  added  another-that  there  wa" 
ne.the,  a  doctor  nor  a  drug  store  on  board!  Had  the  ship  been  longer  at  s.a  tlie 
mortahty  would  have  been  more  terrible,  as  the  surviv<,rs  were  pale  and  feeble 
worn  and  emaciated,  and  some  suffering  from  diarrhaa  and  disorders  of  the 
bowels.  One  little  child  was  left  as  the  sole  representative  of  a  famih  of  five 
who  sailed  from  Antwerp  in  perfect  health;  the  boy's  father,  brother,  and  sifter 
having  died  on  board,  and  his  mother  in  the  hospital-ship  soon  after  reacnin.- 
quarantine.  One  would  suppose  this  paragraph,  from  the  report  of  the  gentleman 
by  whom  the  atrocious  case  was  investigated  on  the  part  of  the  Commissioners  had 
been  written  twenty  years  before  :—  ' 

•  Second-The  water.  I  found  it  in  large  sperm  oil  casks,  the  oil  '■•wimmin-r  nn 
the  surface.  1  tried  to  taste  a  glass,  but  the  smell  was  so  off n  s  v^  t  lat  I  c?ou?d 
not  overcome  my  disgust.  Captain  True  (referred  to  above)  1  o  vever  savs  he 
drank  a  hall  un.bler  of  the  water,  with  the  object  of  testing  it  and  he  was  shortW 
afterwards  taken  with  a  severe  diarrhcea.  John  Bertrani,  a  passen.'.Vf.om  u/ 
buch,  Ith.mish  Prussia,  says,  under  oath,  that  his  dying  child  as!«^l  f"  some 
water,  and  that  the  cook  gave  him  some,  but  that  it  was  so  bad  t  h  id  to  be 
boded,  m  order  to  make  it  drinkable,  aud  that  deponent  had  to  pay  five  frns  to 
the  cook  lor  attending  to  him  and  his  family  Third-Tho  bread  ('  int Vin  'iv,,^ 
says  that  the  bread  was  the  worst  he  ever  saw-mo...  ly  i^^rul  dis  fustint'^  Z  ^^ 
from   one  piece  an  entire  bean  was  taken.     I  examined   the   wS  ^;f  w  i,..  T 

Among  other  proceedings  of  the  Commissioners  was  the  adoption  of  a  reso- 
lution,  proposed  by  the  Hon.  Richard  O'Gorman-one  of  those  Irishmen  who  is 
a  credit  and  an  honour  to  his  country.-referring  the  case  to  the  urgent  attention  of 
the  (iovernmcnt. 

Mr.  O'Gormau  is  one  of  the  ex-officio  members  of  the  Commission  The 
others  are  the  Mayors  of  Xew  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  the  President  of. the 
German  l^ociety. 

Mr.  O'Gorman  is  the  President  of  the  Irish  Kmigrant  Society  of  New  York-an 
admirable  in.stitution ;  but  one  which  might  be  rendered  still  more  useful  not 
only  in  diffusing  information  valuable  to  the  emigrant,  but  in  im-arting  a  heathfuj 
impetus  to  the  occupition  of  the  land  by  the  agricultural  clast  of  Irish  '^ligranU 


i 


J 


i 


3en  for  many 
pc  Baccariel,' 
icre  she  M-as 
ero  Germans 
more  imme- 
'rs  that  they 
tept  in  x>ttro^ 


2U 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Evil  of  remaining  in  the  great  Cities— Why  tlie  City  attracts  the 
new  Comer— Consequence  of  Overcrowding— The  Tenement 
Houses  of  New  York— Important  Official  Reports— Glimpses  of 
the  Reality— An  inviting  IMcture— Misery  and  Slavery  combined 
-—Inducements  to  Intemperance— Massacre  of  the  Innocents— la 
the  wrong  Place— Town  and  Country. 

IRELAND,  whence  a  great  tide  of  linman  life  lias  beeu 
pouring  across  the  Atlantic  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
is  rightly  described  as  '  an  agricultural  country  ; '  by  which 
is  meant  that  the  far  larger  portion  of  its  population  are 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.     In  no  country  have 
the    peasantry  exhibited   a   stronger   or   more   passionate 
attachment  to  the  land  than  in  that  country  from  which 
such  myriads  have  gone  and  are  still  going  forth.     And 
yet  the  strange  fact,  indeed  the  serious  evil,  is,  that,  not- 
withstanding the  vast  majority  of  those  who  emigrate  from 
Ireland  to  America  have  been  exclusively  engaged  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil— as  farmers,  farm-servants,  or  out- 
door labourers— so  many  of  this  class  remain  in  cities  and 
towns,  for  which  they  are  not  best  suited  ;  rather  than  go 
to  the  country,  for  which  they  are  specially  suited,   and 
where  they  would  be  certain  to  secure  for  themselves  and 
their  famihes,  not  merely  a  home,  but  comfort  and  inde- 
pendence.    I  deliberately  assert  that  it  is  not  within  the 
power  of  language  to  describe  adequately,  much  less  ex- 
aggerate, the  evil  consequences  of  this  unhappy  tendency 
of  the  Irish  to  congregate  in  the  large  towns  of  America. 
But  why  they  have  hitherto  done  so  may  be  accounted  for 
without  much  difficulty. 


WHY  THE  CITY  ATTRACTS  THE  NEW  COMER.  215 

Irish  emigrants  of  tho  peasant  and  labouring  class  wore 
generaUy  poor,  and  after  defraying  their  first  expe,.ses  on 
andmg  had  little  left  to  enable  them  to  push  their  way  into 
he  country  in  search  of  such  employment  as  ^yas  best  Suited 
to  then-  kno;yledge  and  capacity :  though  had  they  known 
what  was  m  store  for  too  many  of  them  and  their  children 
they  would  haye  endured  the  seyerest  priyation  and  brayed 
any  hardship,  in  order  to  free  themselves  from  the  fatal 
spe  1  in  which  the  fascination  of  a  city  life  has  meshed  the 
souls  of  so  many  of  their  race..    Either  they  brought  little 
money  with  them,  and  were  therefore  unable  to  go  on  •  or 
that  httle  was  plundered  from  them  by  those  whose  t4de 
It  was  to  prey  upon  the  ir  experience  or  creduhty  of  the 
new-comer.     Therefore,  to  them,  the  poor  or  the  phmdered 
Irish  emigrants,  the  first  and  pressing  necessity  was  em- 
p  oyment ;  and  so  splendid  seemed  the  result  of  that  em- 
ployment eyen  the  rudest  and  most  laborious  kind,  as  com- 
pared with  what  they  were  able  to  earn  in  the  old  country 
«iat  It  at  once  predisposed  them  in  fayour  of  a  city  litC 
The  glittering  silyer  dollar,  how  bright  it  looked,  and  how 
heayy  it  weighed,  when  contrasted  with  the  miserable  six- 
pence, the  scanty  '  tenpenny-bit,'  or  the  occasional  shilhng 
at  home !     Then  there  were  old  friends  and  former  com^ 
panions  or  acquaintances  to  be  met  with  at  eyery  street- 
corner ;  and  there  was  news  to  giye,  and  news  to  receiye- 
too  often,  perhaps,  in  the  liquor-store  or  dram-shop  kept 
by   a    countryman-probably  'a   neighbour's   child,'  or  'a 
decent  boy  from  the  next  ploughland.'     Then  'the  chapel 
was  handy,'  and  'a    Christian   wouldn't  be  overtaken  for 
want  of  a  priest;'    then  there  was  'the  schooling  conyq. 
nient  for  the  children,  poor  things,'-so  the  glorious  chance 
was  lost;  and  the  simple,  innocent  com^fryman;  to  whom 
the  trees  of  the  yirgin  forest  wore  nod^^ng  their  branches 
in  friendly  inyitation,  and  the  blooming  prairie  expanded 
Its  truitful  bosom   in   yain,  became   the  denizen  of  a  city 
for  which  he  was  unquahfied  by  training,  by  habit,  and  by 


^1. 


'■3 

i 

> 

4ii 


-0 


I 
4 


i 


216 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


association.     Possibly  it   was  the    mother's    co^irage  that 
failed  her  as  slie  glanced  at  the   flock   of   httle  ones  who 
clustered  around  her,  or  timidly  clung  to  her  skirts,  and  she 
thought  of  the  new  dangers  and  further  perils  that  awaited 
them  ;    and  it  was  her  maternal  influence  that  was  flung 
into   the   trembling  balance    against  the    country  and  in 
favour  of  the  city.     Or  employment  was  readily  found  for 
one  of-  the  girls,  or  one   or   two  of  the  boys,  and  things 
looked  so  hopeful  in  the  fine  place  that  all  thoughts  of  the 
fresh,  breezy,  healthful  plain  or  hill-side  were  shut  out  at 
that  supreme  moment  of  the  emigrant's  destiny  ;   though 
many  a  time  after  did  ho  and  they  long  for  one  breath'of 
pure  air,  as  they  languished  in  the  stifling  heat  of  a  summer 
in  a  tenement  house.     Or  the  pioneer  of  the  family— most 
likely    a    young  girl— had  found   good  employment,  and, 
with  the  fruits  of  her  honest  toil,  had  gradually  brought 
out  brothers   and   sisters,  father   and   mother,  for  whose 
companionship  her  heart  ever  yearned ;    and  possibly  her 
afl^ection   was   stronger  than   her   prudence,  or   she  knew 
nothing  of  the  West  aiid  its  limitless  resources.     Or  sick- 
ness, that   had    followed  the  emigrant's  family  across  the 
ocean,  fastened  upon  some  member  of  the  group  as  they 
touched  the  soil  for  which  they  had  so  ardently  prayed; 
and  though  the  fever  or  the   cholera   did  not  destroy  a 
precious  Hfe,  it  did  the  almost  as  precious  opportunity  of 
a  better  future!   the  spring  of  that  energy  which  was  suffi- 
cient to  break  asunder  the  ties  and  habits  of  previous  years 
—sufficient  for  flight  from  homo  and  country— was  broken  ; 
and  those  who  faced  America  in  high  hope  were  thence- 
forth added  to  the  teeming  population  of  a  city— to  which 
class,  it  might  be  painful  to  speculate. 

It  is  en.sy  enough  to  explain  why  and  how  those  who 
should  not  have  remained  in  the  great  cities  did  so  ;  but  it 
is  not  so  easy  to  depict  the  evils  which  have  flowed,  which 
daily  ilow,  which,  unhappily  for  the  race,  must  continue  to 
and  fi-om  the  jicrnicious  tendency  of  the  Irish  peasant  to 


CONSEQUENCE  OF  OVEllCROWDING. 


217 

pcndence.      Those   ov^U    ,  f  ^'^  ^^  ^^^«  "^^e- 

Tins   lieadloiiL'-   rusliintr    ii.f,.   +i, 

tnoreb,  oveHaxin,  thei.  ZJt^,^J^\jy^'^-' 
extraordinary  tl,oso  resources  may  be  ami  if  11  'T 
tnrbin,  the  balance  of  supply  and  i.ld  Tl  Jw?  tb" 
men,  women,  and  child vp7i     fi.,,     i  lianas— the 

work  to  bo  done  asthrr  v^  ""^  too  many  for  the 
1-nd.  willing  and  able  to  Ctt  ITT-  '"''  """^  ^°^  ^''^ 
too  many  mouths  fo-  H.  b  tad  o  'V™"?'  ''""  ^^^ 
thus  the  bread  of  charity  ^^^0  '"f ^P'^^'^'"^''"  i  and 
which  is  purchased  1^1    H  '°  ™pi''«''^™t  the  bread 

»  limcuasea  mtii  the  sweat  of  the  bmw      ti 
would  it  be  for  the  noor'in  tt,„  *„  it  ^''PP^ 

Aim  wnen-  the  moral  principle   is  bluntpd   h.r 
abject  misery,  or  weakened  by  disappointj.iP.f.        i     ^ 

there  is  n  o-inf  „*         ,      '/^ ''""•  *'^<'""e  "re  seasons  wlien 
meio  IS  a  glut  of  work,  when  the   demand  exceeds  th„ 
supply-when  some  gigantic  industry  or  some^dden  !! 
cessity  clamours  for  additional  hands    but  T!  , 

and  more  frequently,  seasons  w h^n  ^rk  is  s   \"'         '' 
of  little  employment^,  seasons  of  urer;:'^  istnd  s"^ 

suit-      r""  '""'  '"  """''''>"-'  depressions  of  S; 
esultmgfrom  over  production,  or  the  sLcessftd  rllrv  of 

theie   are    smashnigs   of  banks,    and   commerci.ii    „an--" 
ana  penods  of  general  n.istrust.     Or,  owing  lolt  iXs^ 


,?9 


.-,4 


i 


4 


218 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


severity  of  certain  seasons,  there  is  a  total  cessation  of 
employments  of  particular  kinds,  by  which  vast  numbers  of 
people  are  flung  idle  on  the  streets.     If  at  once  employed 
and  provident,  the  condition  of  the   working  population 
in  the  towns  is  happy  enough ;  but  if  there  be  no  provi- 
dence while  there  is  employment,  one  may  imagine  how 
it   fares  with   the  family  who   are   destitute   aUke  of  em  ■ 
ployment  and  the  will  or  capacity  for  husbam;.;     "   ;  fruits. 
It  is  hard  enough  for  the  honest  thrifty  work  ;  j   man  to 
hold  his  own  in  the  great  towns  of  America,  for  rents  are 
high,  and  living  is  dear,  and  the  cost  of  clothes  and  other 
necessaries  is  enormous ;  but  when  tlie  work  fails,  or  stops, 
terrible  indeed  is  his  position.     Then  docs  the  Irish  peasant 
reahse  the  fatal  blunder  he  has  made,  in  havmg  chosen 
the  town,  with  all  its  risks,  and  dangers,  and  sad  uncer- 
tainties, instead  of  having  gone  into  the  country,  no  matter 
where,  and  adopted  the  industry  for  which  he  was  best 
suited.     Possibly,  the  fault  was  not  his,  of  having  selected 
the  wrong  place  for  his  great  venture  in  hfe ;  but  whether 
his  adoption  of  the  town  in  preference  to  the  country  were 
voluntary,  or  the  result  of  circumstance,  the  evil  is  done, 
and  he  and  his  family  must  reap  the  consequences,  what- 
ever these  may  be. 

The  evil  of  overci'owding  is  magnified  to  a  prodi'^ious 
extent  in  New  York,  which,  being  the  port  of  arri  al— 
the  Gate  of  the  New  World — receives  a  certain  addition 
to  its  population  fi-om  almost  every  ship-load  of  emigrants 
that  passes  through  Castle  Garden.  There  is  scarcely  any 
city  in  the  world  possessing  greater  resources  than  New 
York,  but  these  resources  have  long  since  been  strained 
to  the  very  uttermost  to  meet  the  yearly  increasing 
demands  created  by  this  continuous  accession  to  its  in- 
habitants; and  if  there  be  not  some  check  put  to  this 
undue  increase  of  the  population,  for  which  even  the 
available  space  is  altogether  inadequate,  -it  is  difficult  to 
think  what  the  consecpiences  must  be.     Every  succeeding 


THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES  OF  NEW  YORK.      21. 

year  tends  to  aggrayate  the   existing  evils   wlnV.l.       1  n 
rGiiderino-  the  iiGcp^^i-fv  f,.^  .  '  ^^'"f^^^'  while 

^is  in  aU  cities  growinir  in  wPnUl,   nr..i    • 
the  dweUino- accommnrlnf,-        ,  'y^^''^*^^  ^^d   in  popuhition, 

to  the  incre;~:et!::  t^itr^r'tr' 

spacious  street?  an,l  „^o„  i  ''^       "''  "''^-     ^^''"e 

the  portio„;onhf„ri„  :rr:r ''",°"  *■"  "'"--o- 

found   an   economt:  L^^a^  f  '^  T    "^  f^T^  "'- 
cro,iel,ea  npon-iu.f  o=  ;;''"^"°e.    ^e    bonig   steadily   en- 

tion  of  the  City  otLV  T  "'"'  '"''°"'™»  pinh- 

courts  and  ^^r^iS':™™;:'^^^^^^^ 

tion  of  the  vL  mI?        •!       v   ""^'  "°™  *"  ^°"o  Por- 
tH^-.  that  see.  deS^tltTe^:  tl^^^^J^l 

to  dwen  in  unwholesl  trn™  o'^'e  eS  "'"'  "^^  '=°"'-' 
the  small  and  costly  rooms  into  to,  >  «  .  '  °''  '"•°"'''  '" 
are  divided.  '''""''  "^^  tenement  houses 

As  stated  on  official  authority,  there  are   Ifinnn  , 
ment  houses  in  New  Yorl-  „„  i  •     -.7  ''"*''  *<'"6- 

than  half  a   miSon  S '1::^  ,"  *^^''^  *^%*™U  more 

of  itself  so  suggestive  of  mS^^'  ajd  e\il    «>  f 'l'^  '^^'  ^^ 

"ot  by  the  eCtin  i^^r s^rh^f  T T^ 

c.t.es,  and  been  accustomed  to  city-ife  a' ,5  'T  "^  "" 
l"it  by  a  class  the  majority  of  wi?  ?        ''^  1""'™"^  ' 

a  city  in  tlie  old  cou'n    /„°'tir  r  '      ""''  '"''""^ 

tl^e  port  of  emUvZtl  !^^  "^^^  ""  "»«"•  ™yto 

America  is  the  t^   ,;:^^    ''"^^  ^^-  '%ht  placJin 

cultivation   of  thetnd      T   77"  ""*""'  ''"^"«  '»  *« 
the  land.     Let  the   reader  glance  at  the 


I 


220 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


tonement  liouscs — -those  houses  and  'cellars'  in  which  the 
working  masses  of  New  York  swarm — those  delightful 
abodes  for  which  so  many  of  the  hardy  peasantry  of  Ire- 
land madly  sm-render  the  roomy  log-cabin  of  the  clearing, 
and  the  frame  house  of  a  few  years  after,  together  with 
almost  certain  independence  and  prosjierity.  I  have 
entered  several  of  those  tenement  houses,  in  company 
with  one  to  whom  their  inmates  were  well  known ;  I  have 
spoken  to  the  tenants  of  the  different  flats,  and  have 
minutely  examined  everything  that  could  enlighten  me  as 
to  their  real  condition ;  but  I  deem  it  well  to  rely  rather 
on  official  statements,  which  are  based  on  the  most  ac- 
curate knowledge,  and  are  above  the  suspicion  of  exag- 
geration. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Health, 
m  their  report  for  18GG,  say: — 

'  The  fu'st,  and  at  all  times  the  most  prolific  cause  of  disease,  w.is 
fouiK^  to  be  the  insalubrious  condition  of  most  of  the  tenement  houses 
in  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  Tiiese  houses  are  generully 
built  without  any  reference  to  the  liealth  or  comfort  of  the  occupant, 
but  simply  with  a  view  to  economy  and  profit  to  the  owner.  The 
provision  for  ventilation  and  light  is  very  insufficient,  and  the 
arrangement  of  water-closets  or  privies  could  tiardly  l)e  worse  if 
actually  intended  to  produce  disease.  These  houses  were  almost  in- 
variably crowded,  and  ill-ventilated  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render 
the  air  within  them  continually  impure  and  offensive.  .  .  .  Tlie 
basements  were  often  entirely  below  ground,  the  ceiling  being  a  foot  or 
two  below  the  level  of  the  street,  and  was  necessarily  far  moi'e  damp, 
dark,  and  ill-ventilated  than  the  remainder  of  the  house.  The  cel- 
lars, when  unoccupied,  were  frequently  Jlooat^j,  to  the  depth  of  several 
inches  xoith  sgagnant  icater,  and  were  made  the  receptacles  of  garbage, 
and  refuse  matter  of  every  description.  ...  In  many  cases,  the 
cellars  were  constantly  occupied,  and  sometimes  used  as  lodging-houses, 
where  there  was  no  ventilation  save  by  the  entrance,  and  in  which  the 
occupants  were  entirely  dependent  upon  artificial  light  by  day  as 
well  as  by  night.  Such  was  the  character  of  a  vast  number  of  the 
tenement  houses  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
along  its  eastern  and  western  borders.  Disease,  especially  in  the  form 
of  fevers  of  a  typhoid  character,  wa:?  constantly  present  in  these  dwcl- 


LMPOIITANT  OFFICIAL  REPORTS.  22X 

lings,  and  every  now  and  th.m  became  in  more  that,  one  of  ti.em  ept- 
>lemr,.  I  was  n.und  that  in  one  of  these  Uocnty  cases  of  Mus  had 
occurred  dnrimj  the  previous  year.  "^^ 

The  poor  Irishman  in  New  York  is  not  without  ex- 
periencing the  tender  mercies  of  'middlemen,'  to  whom 
ni  many  instances  the  tenement  houses  are  leased.  These 
middlemen  are  generally  irresponsible  parties,  with  no 
interest  m  the  property  except  its  immediate  profits,  and 
who  destroyed  the  original  ventilation,  such  as  it  was  by  the 
simple  process  of  dividing  the  rooms  into  smaUer  ones  and 
by  crowding  three  or  four  famiHes  into  a  space  ori-inaUv 
intended  for  a  single  family. 

In  18G4,  the  Citizens'  Association  of  New  York  was  or- 
ganised. Its  main  object  being  the  promotion  of   Sanitary 
Eeform.     It  has  already  effected  much  service  through  the 
information  it  has   afforded   in   its    valuable   publications' 
which  exhibit  in  a  striking  manner  the  enormous  evH  of 
overcrowding,  and   its  consequences   to   the    morals    and 
health  of  the  community.     Associated  with  this  organisa- 
tion   are    many  eminent  physicians,   who    constitute   the 
Council  of  Hygiene,  whose  report  forms  one  of  the  most 
important   features    of    the    volume.     Having  divided  the 
city    into    districts    for    the    purpose    of    inspection,    the 
Council    appointed    competent   medical    officers    for    that 
task  ;  and  from  the  detailed  reports  of  these  inspectors  an 
accurate  notion  may  be  obtained  of  the  sanitary  condition 
ol  each  district. 

That  the  overcrowding  of  New  York  is  far  in  excess  of 
all  other  cities,  may  be  shown  by  a  comparison  of  that 
city  with  London.  In  the  Enghsh  metropolis,  the  hir^hest 
rate  of  population  to  the  square  mile  is  in  East  London 
whore,  according  to  the  reporr  of  a  recent  Eoyal  Commis- 
sion It  reached  as  high  as  175,816.  Whereas  in  certain 
portions  of  the  Fourth  Ward  of  New  York,  the  tenant-house 
population  were  in  18G4  "packedatthe  rate  of  about  200  000 
mhabitants  to  the  square  mile.'    Nor  is  it  at  all  probable 


^ 


■J 


I 


"St 

'J 

m 


1 


222 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


that  tliino-H  liavo  come  to  the  worst  in  this  respect.  The 
Council  of  Hygiene,  in  their  report,  take  ratlier  a  despond- 
inj,'  view  of  the  future.  Not  only  has  New  York  already  be- 
come one  of  the  most  populous  and  densely  crowded  cities 
in  the  world,  '  but  it  is  plainly  its  destiny  to  become  at  once 
the  most  populous  and  the  mod  overcrowdvd  of  the  ^reat 
maritime  cities.'  The  evils,  therefore,  which  now  imperil 
health  and  morals  in  consequence  of  overcrowding,  will 
increase  with  the  increase  of  the  population. 

That  there  are  several  tenement  houses  constructed  with 
ft  due  regard  for  their  intended  object— the  comfort  and 
ficcommodation  of  their  inmates— is  true  ;  but  such  houses 
are  rather  the  exception  than  the  rule,  and  the  rent  de- 
manded for  cleanly  and  commodious  apartments  in  a  tene- 
ment provided  with  the  requisite  apphanccs,  places  them 
beyond  the  means  of  the  mass  of  the  working  population. 
It  is  not  with  houses  of  this  class,  but  of  the  kind  which 
are  occupied  by  the  poorer  portion  of  the  community,  in- 
cluding of  necessity  those  who  have  made  the  fatal  mistake 
of  stopping  in  New  York,  instead  of  pushing  on  to  the 
country  and  occupying  the  land,  that  I  propose  to  deal.  A 
few  extracts,  taken  at  random  from  some  of  the  reports, 
will  place  the  reader  sufficiently  in  possession  of  the  evils 
of  overcrowding,  and  the  perils,  aUko  to  soul  and  body,  of 
the  tenement  system,  which  is  now,  though  late,  arousing 
the  alarmed  attention  of  statesmen  and  philanthropists. 

Dr.  Monnell,  to  whom  the  inspection  of  the  'First 
Sanitary  Distriqt'  was  entrusted,  states  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  district,  which  comprises  part  of  the  First  and 
the  whole  of  the  Third  Ward,  are  largely  of  foreign  birth 
— about  one-half  Irish,  one-quarter  Germans,  and  the  re- 
mainder Americans,  Swedes,  Danes,  &c.  Two-thirds  of 
the  resident  population  consist  of  labourers  and  mechanics 
with  their  families.  The  general  characteristics  are,  'a 
medium  grade  of  intelligence  and  a  commendable  amount 
of  industry,  intermixed  largely  with  ignorance,  depravity, 


spect.  The 
a  clospoiul- 
;  already  be- 
)wtlc'd  cities 
3mo  at  once 
>f  the  f>reat 
low  imperil 
Avdiiig,  will 

ructed  with 
omfort  and 
3uch  houses 
be  rent  de- 
s  in  a  tene- 
)laces  them 
population, 
kind  which 
niunity,  in- 
tal  mistake 
:  on  to  the 
:o  deal.  A 
he  reports, 
of  the  evils 
id  body,  of 
;e,  arousing 
ropists. 
the  'First 
he  inliabi- 
e  First  and 
;eign  birth 
.nd  the  rc- 
i-thirds    of 

mechanics 
cs  are,  '  a 
>le  amount 

depravity, 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE  IlKAUTY.  228 

pauperism,  and  dissipation  of  tlie  most  abandoned  charac 
er.  As  an  illustration  of  the  evil  of  over-crowding,  and 
the  perilous  characteristics  of  a  large  class  of  the  floating 
population-consisting  in  this  district  of  'travellers  ^111"- 
f^rants  sailors,  and  vagabonds  without  a  habitation  and 
almost  without  a  name  '-that  mingle  with  the  more  por- 
manen  residents  of  this  lower  district  of  the  city,  Dr 
Monnell  thus  makes  the  reader  acquainted  with  a  certain 
H<iualid  old  tenant-house  in  Washington  Street  :— 

'.fr'""  /'■"'",  '^"''"""^  *"  apartmoat.  until  we  voachod  the  upper 
.arret,  we    oun,    every  place  crow.le.l  witl.  occupants,  one  roo.n,  on  ^ 
.^    by     feet,  and  a    ow  ceiling,  containing  two  adults  and  a  dau^ht  r 
0    twelve  years,  and  the  lather  working  as  a  shoemaker  in  the  ,;om 
wh.le  .n  the  upper  garret  were  found  a  couple  of  dark  rooms  kep     w 
haggard    crones,  who   nightly  supplied   lodgings   to  twenty   or   th  rtv 
vagabonds  and  homeless  persons.    This  wretched  hhling-plaee  of  u  ef 
.-omen,  and  girls,  who  in  such  places  become  daily  m  re      do  s  "  " 
more   wretched    had  long   been   a   hot-bed   of   typ'hus,   seJ  a  1^ 

lodgers  having  been  sent  to  the  fever  hospital,  ^vhile  permanent  rs' 

ZaZ/  ''"^  '"'  '^^""'  '"^^"^^^^  '^''^  '^^  --«  ^^^ 

In  ihe  construction  of  many  modern  tenant-houses    it 
would  appear,  the  Inspector  states,  'that  hygienic  laws  and 
sanitary  requirements  have  been  estimated  as  of  only  se- 
condary   importance,   the    great  problem    being    how   to 
domicile  the  greatest  number  of  families  on  a  given  area 
And  m   the   practical   solution   of   that  problem,   in   this 
district,  hes  the  great  overshadowing  cause  of  insalubrity 
before  which  aU  others  combined  sink  into  insignificance 
The  most  marked  feature  of  the  tenant-houses  is  the  smaU 
size   of    their   apartments,   whereby  ensues  overcrowdinrr 
m  each  family.'     Having  described  a  gi'oup  of  tenements- 
houses  which  are  represented  by  the  aid  of  photographv 
^lud  designated  as  'a  perpetual  fever  nest,'  the  report  thus 
proceeds  : — 


■»,i 

i 

i 

J 

m 


i 

i 


224 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMRIIICA. 


'And  in  addition,  the  Htroct  throughout  thiH  wholo  uciglihourhood, 
piTscnts  huhitimlly  tlio  vilt'st  condition  ol'  lilth,  and  rcdis  witii  most 
olU'nnivn  odours.  TypliuH  fever  and  nioiiHlert  were  very  prevalent 
bore  in  the  early  part  of  tho  Hiunnier.  In  my  weekly  reportM  of 
'•pestilential  diseaseH  and  insalubrious  (iuarter8,"  I  have  had  frequent 
occasion  to  describe  tho  condition  of  families  and  disease  in  tlie 
j)remisc8  that  nro  hero  photographed,  Tho  beautiful  work  of  the  artist 
renders  unnecessary  any  further  description  of  theso  squalid  and  pesti- 
ferous tenements,  and  their  noi^omo  fronting  of  dilapidated  and 
overtlowing  privies,  and  a  dismal,  narrow.  Hooded  court.  That  erup- 
tive fevers,  typhus,  aiul  physical  decay  may  always  be  seen  here  Is  cer- 
tainly not  surprising.' 

Tho  worst  oifects  upon  tho  iiiniatos  of  tho  poorost  clans 
of  tcntint-houscs  aro  exhibited  not  so  much  in  the  more 
acute  form  of  disease,  as  *  in  the  pale  and  sickly  counten- 
ance of  their  occupants,  with  lax  fibre  and  general  absence 
of  robust  health  ;  we  see  it  also  in  the  pining  and  wasting 
of  infants,  and  in  the  general  prevalence  of  strumous,  oph- 
thalmic, and  eruptive  disorders.  All  those  appearances 
indicate  unmistakably  the  want  of  those  great  indisjiensiblo 
necessities  of  health — pure  air  and  light.' 

Let  us  follow  Dr.  Pulling,  the  'Inspector  of  the  Fourth 
Sanitary  District,'  in  hi^  visits  of  inspection,  and,  witliout 
straining  probability,  assume  that  tho  miserable  picture  so 
graphically  drawn  is  that  of  an  Irish  family,  the  victims 
of  the  one  great  and  fatal  mistake  of  the  husband  and  the 
father — that  of  having  remained  in  New  York,  instead  of 
carrying  his  strength  and  his  industry  to  the  place  where 
they  were  most  required,  and  were  sure  to  be  appreciated  : 

'  Through  a  narrow  alley  we  enter  a  small  courtyard  which  the  lofty 
buildings  in  front  keep  in  almost  perpetual  shade.  Entering  it  from 
tlie  street  on  a  sunny  day,  the  atmosphere  seems  like  that  of  a  well. 
The  yard  is  fdled  with  recently-washed  clothing  suspended  to  dry. 
In  the  centre  of  this  space  aro  the  closets  used  by  the  population  of  both 
front  and  rear  houses.  Their  presence  is  quite  as  perceptible  to  the 
smell  as  to  the  Sight. 

•  Making  our  way  through  this  enclosui*e,  and  descending  four  or 
five  steps,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  basement  of  the  rear-building. 
We  enter  a  room  whose  ceiling  is  blackened  with  smoke,  and  its  wallti 


ij?libourlioo(l, 
kH  with  most 
ry  in'cviilt'tit 
y  rcportM  of 
had  fn-qiicnt 
seaHc?    in   tin? 

of  the  artist 

id  and  pcwti- 

pidutc'd    and 

That  ornp- 

horo  irt  cor- 

oroHt  claHH 
tho  moro 
y  coiinton- 
L*al  abseuoo 
lid  wasting 
mous,  oph- 
ppcarauces 
ilispensiblo 

ho  Fourth 
id,  witliout 
picture  so 
lie  victims 
tid  and  tlie 
instead  of 
laoe  where 
preciated  : 

ich  the  lofty 
ring  it  from 
at  of  a  well, 
ided  to  dry. 
ation  of  both 
ptible  to  the 

ling  four  or 
ear-building, 
and  its  wall;^ 


AN  INVITING  PICTUUK.  jjJ 

^..ohnnvd  with  dau.p.  In  fn.nt.  op,.,.!,.,  on  a  nam.,  area  covorod 
with  gMM.n  n.onld.  two  ...n.ll  window...  th-lr  tops  Hcurcly  lev.d  wit .  h« 
courtyard    aHbrd  at  n ,ay  a  twilight  illun.i'nati.u.  .M    «     p"      .    , 

«i"       r  1       To  r.M       ^rr'""'  ^'"-^  "''''•••'"^""•^  "•■^'  ^''"  "—f 

«-- "" "  ■■■'^-y  c r  "J»n^  n,::;:,:; :;:;:.':;:  •::„!':„':;:': 

,,  ',  "•■■-'1'"  P"i»"ri.,„,s  air,  tl,„  ,I„ikm.s.,,  an,l  ll,„  ,H,„n  •  l.nt 
the  battle  «  nearl,  ove,  it  i,  ea»y  to  Uecido  whe.;  nJ^ki^'Z  L'' 

for^l;r'"'^'  '.'^""""'"'^  °f  «^i^  'li»t"<-i  are  fearful  abclos 
for  hu,„un  beings.  They  were  ocn.piea,  in  1804.  i,i  1  400 
persons    and  their  floors  ranged  frota  ten  to  th    ty  feet 

teen"  ::?r  ™'"'  'Z"" '     ' '"  *'"  ^'*-''^^'"  basetnents'i    - 
een  famthes,  or  110  persons,  hve  beneath  the  level  of  the 

Zed  on  tir'^  '"™^'  ""'f  ""  ™""-^  "*  !'""««  "'■«  situ- 
ated on  the  same   or  a  higher  level,  .and  tLcir  contents 

frequently  ooze  through  walls  into    the    oceupied  "par 

.neiUs  besnle  the:n.     FuUy  one-fourth  of  these  subt  T  a- 

fromt  r"        ^'V""-^'^  ^y  -  -ost  offensive  odour 

lom  th  s  souree.  and  rendered  exceedingly  unwholesome  as 

mm.an  habitations.     These  are  the  p,ace°sl  wl  I  we  mo 

equently  meet  with  typhoid  fever  and  dysentery  du  r^ 

the  summer  months."  ^  "iiun„ 

Matters  are  not  much  better  in  'the  Sixth  Inspection 
Distncv  where  the  tenement  popuhvtion  is  about  23,00a 


'la 

,.  ..| 

I 

i 

I  J 


i 


226 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


In  some  of  tlie  cellars  and  basements  water  trickled  down 
the  walls,  the  soivice  of  which  was  traced  to  the  foulest 
soakage.  One  cannot  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  nox- 
ious effluvia  always  present  in  these  basements  are  of  a 
sickening  character.  Many  of  these  cellars  are  occupied 
by  two  or  three  famiHes;  a  number  are  also  occupied  as 
lodging-houses,  accommodating  from  twenty  to  thirty  lodg- 
ers !  What  an  abode  for  those  who,  leaving  home  and 
country,  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  hope  of  bettering  their 

condition  ! 

The  Inspector  of  the  Eleventh  District— Dr.  Brown- 
states  that  nearly  one-fifth  of  all  the  tenements  are  rear 
buildings,  some  of  them  of  the  lowest  grade.  They  are 
generally  contracted  in  size,  shut  out  from  the  sunHght, 
and  commonly  are  obstructions  to  hght  and  ventilation  in 
the  front  buildings.  The  interval  between  the  front  and 
rear  house  is  frequently  so  small,  and  sometimes  so  com- 
pletely enclosed  on  all  sides  by  the  adjacent  houses  '  as  to 
constitute  a  mere  weU-hole.'  Kef  erring  to  certain  houses 
in  Hammond  and  Washington  Streets,  the  Inspector  des- 
cribes their  inhabited  cellars,  the  ceilings  of  which  are  be- 
low the  level  of  the  street,  'inaccessible  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  and  always  damp  and  dismal.  Three  of  them  are 
flooded  at  every  rain,  and  require  to  be  bailed  out.  They 
are  let  at  a  somewhat  smaller  rent  than  is  asked  for  apart- 
ments on  the  upper  floor,  and  are  rented  by  those  to  whom 
poverty  leaves  no  choice.     They  are  rarely  vacant' 

Under  the  heading  *  Eents,'  we  find  the  Inspector  of  the 
Fourth  Sanitary  District  stating  that  'in  regular  tenant 
houses  the  rent  of  each  domicile  (generally  consisting  of 
two  rooms — a  '  living  room '  and  a  bedroom)  at  present 
averages  $9  per  month,  or  $108  the  year.'  The  cellar,  is, 
we  are  informed,  '  let  at  a  somewhat  lower  rate  '  than  the 
average  mentioned. 

From  tlie  repoi-t  of  Dr.  Furman,  the  Inspector  of  the 
Seventeenth  Sanitary  District,  the"  following  passage  is  ex- 
tracted : — 


;lc(l  down 
lie  foulest 
t  the  nox- 
}  are  of  a 
occupied 
;cupied  as 
lirty  lodg- 
loine  and 
ring  tlieir 

Brown — 
i  are  rear 

They  are 

sunHght, 
tilation  in 
front  and 
s  so  com- 
ises  '  as  to 
a,in  houses 
ector  des- 
ch  are  be- 
ays  of  the 

them  are 
)ut.     They 

for  apart- 
e  to  whom 

3tor  of  the 
dar  tenant 
isisting  of 
at  present 
5  cellar,  is, 
' than  the 

tor  of  the 


sage  IS  ex- 


MISERY  AND  SLAVERY  COMBINED.  227 

'Most  of  the  larger  tenant-houses  are  in  a  state  of  mnckiness,  and 
aa  a  rule,  overcrowded,  without  ventilation  or  li<rht.  These  are' 
offensive  enough  (and  incapable  to  preserve  a  normal  standard  of 
bealtli) ;  but  the  crowded  rear  tenant-houses,  completely  cut  off  from 
ventilation  and  perhaps  light,  are  stUl  worse.  They  abound  in  di.rk 
damp,  and  noisome  basements  and  cellars,  converted  into  slecpina 
apartments.  In  these  the  invigorating  and  health-preserving  sun-lio-ht 
and  fresh  air  are  never  accessible.^  -  ° 

An  iUustration  is  given  of  one  of  these  habitations,  the 
'Hvmg  rooms'  of  which  are  nearly  dark,  and  the  dormi- 
tories '  dark  and  damp.'  The  report  thus  continues  :— 
.'Here  we  have  low,  damp,  dark,  and  unventilated  bed-rooms  who«e 
inmates  respire  a  murky  air,  and  consort  with  snails,  spiders,  and  muck, 
worms  Ihese  underground  habitations  are  most  pernicious  in  lavin- 
the  foundation  for  and  developing  strumous  ophthalmia,  hip-j^int' 
and  certain  diseases  of  the  spine,  diseases  of  the  respiratory  oirans 
(the  chief  of  which  is  consumption),  rheumatism,  which  in  turn  pro- 
duces organic  disease  of  the  heart.' 

The  picture  would  not  be  perfect  without  the  follow- 
ing :— 

'They-the  houses-as  in  many  instances  owned  by  large  capitalists 
by  whom  they  are  farmed  out  to  a  class  of  factors,  who  make  this 
their  especial  business.    These  men  pay  to  the  owner  of  the  property 
a  sura  which  is  considered  a  fair  return  on  the  capital  invested,  and 
rely  for  their  profits  (which  are  often  enormous)  on   the  additional 
amount  which  they  can  extort  from  the  wretched  tenants  whose  house 
frequently  becomes  untenantable  for  want  of  repairs,  which  the  "ao-ent" 
deems  it  his  interest  to  withhold.    These  men  contrive  to  absorb"most 
of  the  scanty  surplus  which  remains  to  the  tenants  aft-r  payiu"-  for 
their  miserable  food,  shelter,  and  raiment.     They  are,  in  many  in- 
stances, proprietors  of  low  groceries,  liquor  stores,  and  "policy  shops  " 
connected   ivith  such   premises,~the  same   individual   often   beino-   the 
actual  owner  of  a  large  number.    3Iam,  of  the  wretched  populatiol  are 
held  by  these  men  in  a  state  of  abject  dependence  and  vassalage  little  short 
of  actual  slavery. 

And  this  is  in  the  greatest  city  of  the  Great  Eepublic  of 
the  New  World !  The  poor  Irishman  who  leaves  his  own 
country  to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of  the  most  grinding 
landlord,  and  becomes  the  slavish  vassal  of  one  of  these 
blood-suckers,  makes  but  a  poor  exchange.     The  'improve- 


1 


i 


}% 


228 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


mcnt '  ill  his  condition  might  be  fittingly  indicated  by  the 
homely  adage,— '  from  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.'  The 
rudest  hut  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  the  loneliest  cabin  on 
the  prairie,  Avould  be  a  palace  to  one  of  these  abodes. 
Health,  energy,  independence,  self-respect  —  the  hopeful 
iaimly  growing  up  as  strong  as  young  hons,  and  fleet  as 
•  antelopes— plenty  for  all,  and  a  hearty  welcome  for  the 
stranger  and  the  wayfarer,— this  is  the  country.  What  a 
contrast  is  it  to  the  squalor,  the  debasement,  and  the  sla- 
very of  the  town— as  described  by  a  competent  authority. 

How  intemperance,  the  author  of  so  many  ills  to  maij- 
Idnd,  and  in  a  special  degree  to  those  who  Hve  by  their 
labour,  has  its  origin  in  these  abodes  of  misery,  to  which 
the  working  population  are  condemned  through  poverty 
and  the  want  of  cheap  and  healthful  homes,  is  thus  ac- 
counted for  by  the  Commissioners  of  Health  :— 

'This  wo  know  from  observation,  and  from  the  testimony  of  dig- 
ponsary  physicians  and  other  visitors  among  the  poor,  that  the  crowded, 
dark,  and  unventihited  homes  of  the  classes  from  which  pauperism 
springs  are  driven  to  habits  of  tippling  by  the  combined  influences  of 
the  vital  depression  and  demoralising  surroundings  of  their  unhealthy 
habitations.  Pertinent  was  the  reply  of  a  drunken  mother,  in  a  dismal 
rear-court,  to  a  sanitary  ofBcer.  avIio  asked  her  why  she  drank:  "7/'  tjou 
lived  hi  this  place,  you  would  ask  for  whisky  instead  of  milkJ' ' 

Dr.  Burrall,  Inspector  for  the  Twelfth  District,  touches 
in  his  report  on  the  same  jDoint  : — 

'It  may  be  that  the  depressing  causes  existing  in  such  a  neighbour- 
hood prompt  to  the  use  of  some  "  oblivious  antidote,"  by  which  for  ai 
time  the  rough  edges  of  life  may  be  smoothed  over.  It  may  be,  too. 
that  these  stimulants  excite  a  certain  degree  of  prophylactic  induence] 
but  the  quality  of  liquor  obtained  in  such  places  is  injurious  to  the 
digestive  organs,  the  bra'm  becomes  unduly  excited,  and  quarrelling 
or  even  murder  results.' 

Dr.  Field,  Inspector  for  the  Eighteenth  District,  enters 
fully  into  the  demorahsing  influences  and  results  produced 
^y  txie  low  class  of  tenements  on  those  who  inhabit  them  :— 


INDUCEMENTS  TO  INTEMPERANCE. 


229 


lied  by  the 
fire.'  The 
)st  cabin  on 
^se  abodes, 
he  hopeful 
nd  fleet  as 
tne  for  the 
r.  What  a 
;id  the  sla- 
uthority. 
Is  to  niaij- 
ve  by  their 
y,  to  which 
^h  i)overty 
s  thus  ac- 


nony  of  dis- 
the  crowded, 
h  pauporism 
influences  of 
ir  unhealthy 
',  in  a  dismal 
mk:  '^If  you 

it,  touches 


a  neiglibour- 
7  which  for  a 
may  be,  too, 
ic  influence, 
rious  to  the 
quarrelling 

ict,  enters 

produced 

t  them  : — 


'Moi 


)reover.  it  is  an  accepted  fact  tluit  to  live  for  a  long  time  deprived 
of  pure  air  and  sunlight,  will  not  only  depress  a  man  physically  an,l 
mentally,  but  will  actually  i/einora/lse  him.  The  atmosphere  is  precisely 
adapted,  through  its  properties  and  constituents  to  the  wants  of  tiie 
beings  designed  to  breathe  It. 

'A  man  gradually  loses  ambition  and  hope ;   concern  for  the  welfare  of 
lus  family,  by  slow  degrees,  loses  its  hold  upon  him.     Loss  of  pl.ysicil 
vigour  attends  this  corresponding  condition  of  the  mind,  until  at  len-th 
...ssitude  and  depression  of  spirits  and  constant  ennui  get  such   control 
over  him  that  no  power  or  effort  of  the  will  cun  shake  them  off     With 
thus  decline  of  energy  and  vigour,  both  of  mind  and  body,  is  set  up  an 
instinctive  yearning  for  something  which  will  give  a  temporary  respite  to 
he  dragging  weariness  of  life.     Hence  we  find  the  children  even,  who  are 
brought  up  without  the  stimulating  influence  of  pure  air  and  sunlight 
will  learn  to  cry  for  tea  and  coflee  before  they  learn  to  talk  ;  and  they 
wi  1  reuse  the  draught  unless  it  he  strong.     One  would  hardly  credit 
nnless  he  has  visited  considerably  among  the  tenant-house  population 
how  general  this  habit  is  among  the  youngest  children.     As  they  grow 
older,  they  acquire  the  appetite  of  their  parents  for  alcoholic  stimnlants  /and 
we  need  not  go  further  to  account  for  any  extreme  of  immorality  and 
want.'  ^ 

Nor  are  abundant  opportunities  wanting  for  the  indul- 
gence of  this  fatal  passion.     Of  the  twenty-nine  Inspectors 
who  report  on  the  sanitary  condition  of  New  York,  there 
IS  not  one  who  does  not  deplore  the  existence  of  the  lowest 
class  of  '  groggeries '  in  the  midst  of  the  very  poorest  dis- 
trict.     One   statement  as   to   this  fact   will   suffice       Dr 
Oscar  a   Smith,  reporting  on  the  Ninth  District,  says-^ 
'  The  number  of  dram-shops  to  be  met  in  those  locahties 
where  a  tenant-house  class  reside,  is  surprising.'    Dr  Ed- 
ward W.  Derby,  in  his  report  on  the  Fourteenth  District 
gives ji  painful  picture  of  the  prevalence  of  this  unhappy 

'  The  low  groggeries  and  groceries,  in  all  of  which  liquors  are  sold 

sexes,  youth  and  old  age  vieing  with  each  other  as  to  their  capabilitieg 
0    drniking,  enriching  the  proprietors  of  these  places,  spe      n! 

^SZ  ;;;/^^^'^^'"^  *^'-  morbid,y,,ebased  appelit '  rathJ?  ^1 
purchasing  the  necessaries  of  life  for  their  families,  and  then  issuing 


m^ 


■■;1 
I 


J 


230 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


forth  or  being  thrust  out  upon  tho  streets  in  various  stages  of  inf  -xica- 
lion.  half  crazed  with  tho  vilo  and  poisonous  liquor  tliey  have  svvaliuu-ed 
fit  subjects  for  tlie  commilting  of  the  many  crimes  which  are  daily  chroni- 
cled in  our  papers.  Such  are  the  places  which  stare  you  in  the  lace  at 
every  step,  a  disgrace  to  the  city,  and  a  proliQc  source  of  corruption  to 
the  morals  of  the  surrounding  inhabitants.' 

♦Poison,'  'vile  poison/  'noxious  and  deleterious  com- 
pounds/ are  the  terms  generaUy  applied  to  the  description 
of  hquor  for  which  so  many  sacritice  their  means,  their 
health,  and  the  happiness  of  their  famihes. 

With  such  a  state  of  things— alfccting  at  least  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  tenement  population  of  New  York- 
it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  destruction  of 
infant  life  in  that  city  is  something  prodigious.  The 
total  number  of  deaths  'in  the  first  year  of  life,'  for  the 
nine  months  ending  the  30th  of  September,  18GG,  was 
6,258 !  This  is  a  Massacre  of  the  Innocents  with  a  ven- 
geance. The  Commissioners  of  the  Board  of  Health 
remark  : — 

'The  rate  of  mortality  in  children  under  five  years  of  age  in  New 
York  IS  greater  than  in  any  city  with  which  this  Board  has  corres- 
pondence,  and  the  cause  of  this  excess  will  best  be  sought  in  the 
miserable  housing  and  habits  of  the  labouring  classes,  and  in  the 
multiplied  sources  of  loul  air  in  our  two  cities.  .  .  .  From  various 
data  now  in  hand,  the  conclusion  is  warranted,  that  death  has  in  .ach 
0/  the  past  two  years  taken  nearly  one-third  of  the  total  number  before 
the  first  birthday  J  "^ 

Dr.  Derby  takes  rather  a  philosophical  view  of  this 
tremendous  death  rate,  and  is  indined  to  regard  it  as  a  pro- 
vidential counterpoise  to  tlie  fecundity  of  the  poor,  which, 
he  states,  has  long  been  a  matter  of  remark.     He  adds  :— 

'  The  number  of  diseases  which  menace  and  destroy  infantile  existence 
seems  almost  a  providential  interference  to  prevent  an  excess  of  popula- 
tion over  and  above  that  which  the  moans  of  the  parents  could  possibly 
support.  Nor,  when  we  reflect  upon  the  condition  in  which  these  unfor- 
tunate children  are  found  to  exist,  and  the  many  circumstances,  moral 
and  hygienic,  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  do  we  wonder  less  at  the 
amount  of  sickness  and  mortality  among  them,  than  that  it  is  not  great- 
er ;  less  that  they  die  than  they  survive.'^ 


OS  of  in  I  xica- 
IX vo  swalluwed, 
ro  <liulychroni- 
i  in  the  iUce  at 
'corruption  to 

Grious  com- 

doscription 

leans,  their 

east  a  very- 
few  York — 
struction  of 
ious.  TliR 
fe,'  for  the 

186G,  was 
vith  a  ven- 

of  Health 

■  age  in  New 
(1  has  corres- 
anght  in   tlie 

and  in  tlie 
From  various 

has  in  each 
iumher  before 

w  of  this 
t  as  a  pro- 
)or,  which, 
adds : — 

ile  existence 
>s  of  popula- 
iild  possibly 
tliose  unfor- 
inces,  moral 
'  less  at  the 
s  not  great- 


MASSACRE  OF  THE  INNOCENTS.  281 

Dr.  Monnell  thus  conchides  his  remarks  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  hfe  caused  by  the  miserable  dwelHngs  of  his  di^- 
trict  : — 

'  la  the  deadly  atmosphere  of  some  low  basement,  or  close  un- 
ventilated  bedroom,  or  in  the  wretched  squalor  of  some  dilapidate,! 
garret  those  little  ones  so  numerously  born  amongst  this  class  first 
draw  their  breath,  and  in  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  poison  they ' 
battle  for  life  ;  but  m  the  unequal  strife  venf  few  survive,  and  thus  are 
yearly  sacrificed  whole  hecatombs  of  living  souls.  They  fall  victims  not 
of  necessity,  nor  of  the  decrees  of  inevitable  Fate,  but  of  i.niorance 
and  avarice,  and  are  lost  to  parents  and  friends,  to  societ;,  and  to 
usefulness  in  the  world.'  j>  ^ 

These  poor  immature  blossoms,  that  perish  so  miserably 
m  the  foul  air  of  an   overcrowded  city,  how  they  would 
have   thriven    in   the   pure    atmosphere   of    the   countrv ' 
where  the  young  cheek,  'pasty  and  palhd'  in  damp  and 
dismal  ceUar,  or  the   fusty  sleeping-hole  of  the  tenement 
house,  would  bloom  with  health,  and  the  eye,  so  dull  and 
languid  in  the  haunts   of  misery  or  vice,   would  sparkle 
into  life  and  hope.     In  the  country,  throughout  America, 
children  are,  next  to  his  own  industry  and  health,  the  best 
capital  of  the  parent.     What  they  are  under  the  circum-  * 
stances  described  in  the  passages  just  quoted,  the  reader 
may  easily  imagine. 

My  own  previously  formed  convictions,  which  for  years 
had  been  strong  in  favour  of  the  Irish  selecting  the  right 
place  for  their  special  industry,  were,  if  possible,  confirmed 
by  a  visit  to  tenement  houses  of  different  classes.     I  re- 
member one  in  particular,  occupied  principaUy  by  Irish. 
It  presented  none   of  the  revolting  features   common   to 
the   dens  already   described.      There  was  no   squalor,  no 
dilapidation ;  the  place  appeared  to  be  in  fair  order.     But 
the  tenants  were  not  the  class  of  people  who  should  have 
remained  in  New  York.     In  Ireland  they  belonged  to  the 
rural  population  ;  and  when  I  lifted  the  latch  and  entered 
an  apartment,  it  was  just  as  if  I  had  w.alkcd  some  miles 
into  the  country  at  home,  and  entered  the  cabin  of  the 


'  3 

<    ft 

,J 

.4 
i 

■       :     i 


J 


232 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


labourer,  or  the  cottage  of  the  farmer ;  for  in  the  accent  a  nd 
manner  of  the  inmates  there  was  no  difference  wliat^ver 
Ihey  were  aU  racy  of  the  soil.     You  could  not  visit  any 
house  mhabited  by  a  number  of  Ii-ish  in  which  instances 
of  the  beau  iful  charity  by  which  the  race  are  distinguished 
^vould  no    be  displayed.     Here,  for  instance,  was  a  great 
strong  fellow,  not  long  from  the  old  country,  and  not  able 
to  get  work,  hstlessly  leaning  against  tfie  door-post  of  a 
lower  apartment,  the  tenants  of  which  had\nven  'the  poor 
boy     a  hearty  welcome,    and   a  'shake-down,'  and  'a  bit 
and  sup  ;     though  they  themselves  had  a  hard  struggle  to 
keep    want    from    their  humble    hearth.      There  was   in 
another  room  a   mother,  with  her  own  young  brood,  yet 
who  found  a  corner  in  her  woman's  haart  for  the  orphan 
child  o±  a  neighbour  that  died  some  months  before. 

In  one   of  the   upper   'domiciles'  there  were  then  six 
persons,    a  mother,   four    young    children,    and   a  female 
relative,  ./ho  was  engaged  in  washing.      The  husband,  the 
seventh  mmate,  a  labouring  man,  was  out  at  work.     The 
principal  apartment   measured  about  9   feet  by  12  •  the 
dimensions  of  the  other,  the  bedroom,  allowing  httle  more 
than  the  space  occupied  by  a  fair-sized  four-post  bedstead. 
A    stove     necessary  for   the   season,   occupied    no   smaU 
portion  of  the  chief  apartment.     There  was  no  actual  want 
of  essential    articles   of   furniture,  such    as   a  table  and 
chairs  ;  and  the  waUs  were  not  without  one  or  two  pious 
and  patriotic  pictures,  Cathohc  and  Irish.     The   children 
httir  !:;!^^"^^^7^^-',but  pale   and   sickly;    and   a  poor 
httle   fellow,    of  wonderfully  bright   countenance,  hopped 
about  on  one  leg,  f^-om  an  injury  which,  owing  to  neglect, 
washkelyto  cripple  him  for  life.     For  this  house  accom- 
modation, for  this  confined  space,  in  which  seven  human 

paid  $7  a  month,  or  $84  a  year.  Work  or  no  work-and 
It  was  not  unfrequently  the  latter-^this  rent  should  of 
necessity  be  met.     In  English  money  even  at  the  present 


IN  THE  WRONG  PLACE. 


233 


rate  of   3s.  M.  the  dollar  in  'greenbacks,'  a  year's  rent 
would   come  to  13/.  13.s.;   as    much    as  ^yould   enable   the 
tenant  of  these  apartments  to  purchase  the  fee-simple  of 
more   than   50   acres   of  good  land   in   a   Western   State 
The  mother  of  the  children  was  quiet,  well-mannered,  and 
respectable  m  appearance;  and  though  the  freshness  htnl 
long  smce  faded  from  her  face,  she  retained  the  traces  of 
a  knid  of  grave  and  pensive  beauty.     She  was  the  dauo-hter 
of  a  decent  farmer  in  West  Carbery,  county  Cork,  and  her 
husband,  now  a  day  labourer  in  New  York,  had  also  held 
•some    land    in    the    same    locahty.      They   had   come   to 
America 'to  better  themselves,'— 'to  be  more  independent 
than  they  were  at  home  ;'  and  here  they  were,  stuffed  into 
a  Httle  room  in  a  tenement-house,  with  four  young  helnless 
children  depending  on  them  for  support,  their  only  moans 
consisting  of  the  earnings  of  the   father  of  the  family— 
about  $9  a  week ;  out  of  which  everything  had  to  be  pro- 
vided, and  at  prices  so  excessive  as  to  leave  but  a  smaU 
balance  on  the  Saturday  night.     A  month's  idleness,  or  a 
fortnight's  sickness,  and  what  misery !     Necessaries  to  be 
had  on   credit,  at  a  rate  equal  to   the  vendor's  supposed 
risk  ;  and  to  be  paid  for  on  a  future  day,  in  addition  to 
the  never  ceasing  outlay  for  the  daily  wants  of  a  young 
and  growing  family.     Here  then  were  intelligence,  prac"^. 
tical  knowledge,  special  aptitude  for  a  country  life,  madly' 
flmig  away;    and  the  all  but  certainty  of  a  grand  future, 
that  is,  a  future  of  comfort  and  independence,  sacrificed 
for  the  precarious  employment  of  a  day-labourer  in  New 
York!     A  few  years  of  hopeful  toil,  not  more  trying,  but 
less  trying  to  the  constitution,  than   that  which  he*"went 
through  every  day,  would  have  enabled  the  tenant  of  that 
stuffy  apartment    in   a    desperately   overcrowded   city   to 
provide    his   wife   and   cliHdren  with   a   happy,   healthful, 
prosperous  home,  which  would  have  been  theirs  for  ever' 
and  from  which  neitlier  factor,  nor  agent,  nor  gron-o-ery 
owner  could  have  driven  them.      But,  alas  for  themlind 


'm 


M  i'!$ 


■4 


•    i 

i'a' 

■  -'.i 

■  i 

t 

■i 

J 

■m 


3 


234 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


for  him!  the  ready  employment  and  its  apparently  large 
reward,  and  the  attractions  of  a  city,  were  more  than  a 
match  for  his  good  sense  ;  and  now,  like  so  'many  of  his 
countrymen,  he  is  as  thoroughly  out  of  his  legitimate 
sphere  as  man  can  possibly  be.  I  regretted  I  could  not  see 
the  husband  ;  but  I  did,  as  a  matter  of  conscientious  duty, 
endeavour  to  make  the  wife  and  mother  comprehend  the 
magnitude  of  the  mistake  which  had  been  made,  and  urged 
her  to  counsel  him  to  free  himself  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity from  a  position  for  which  he  was  not  suited,  and 
which  was  not  suited  for  liim. 

I  saw  much  in  other  tenement  houses— whether  houses 
specially  built  for  the  purpose,  or  houses  adapted  to  that 
purpose — to  justify  the  accuracy  of  the  descriptions  given 
in  the  reports  from  which  I  have  quoted  ;  but  though  I 
witnessed  much  misery  and  squalor,  and  in  a  few  instances 
glanced  into  places  scarcely  fit  for  the  shelter  of  animals, 
I  must  confess  to  have  been  more  impressed  by  the  sad 
blunder  of  these  young  people— who  would  have  made 
such,  splendid  settlers  in  some  fert^'le  region,  whether  of 
Canada  or  the  States— than  with  all  i  saw  or  heard  during 
the  day. 

Even  where  there  is  sobriety,  industry,  good  conduct, 
constant  employment,  the  city  is  not  the  place  for  the 
man  bred  in  the  country,  and  acquainted  fi-om  his  boyhood 
only  wdth  country  pursuits,  whether  as  farmer  or  farm 
labourer.  The  country  wants  him,  clamours  for  him, 
welcomes  him,  bids  him  prosper,  and  offers  him  the  means 
of  doirig  so.  But  suppose  there  is  not  industry,  sobriety, 
good  conduct,  or  constant  employment,  is  it  necessary  to 
depict  the  consequences  ?  The  once  simple  peasant  is  soon 
smirched  by  the  foulness  of  such  city  corruption  as  too 
frequently  surrounds  him  or  hes  in  his  daily  path  ;  and  the 
dram  shop,  so  ruinously  convenient  to  the  dwellings  of 
tlie  toihng  poor,  finds  him  one  of  its  best  customers.  If 
his  children  escape   the  perils   of  infancy,   and  grow  up 


TOWN  AND  COUNTRY. 


236 


about  liiin,  what  is  their  training,  what  thoir  career,  what 
their  fate  ?  Possibly  they  are  saved  through  some  merciful 
interposition  ;  perhaps  by  the  tears  and  prayers  of  a  good 
mother,  perhaps  by  the  example  of  a  sister  wiio  hfis  caught 
the  mother's  spirit.  Possibly  they  grow  up  in  industry 
and  virtue,  but  the  odds  are  fearfully  against  them  ;  and 
it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  quick-witted  offspring 
of  the  father  who  becomes  intemperate  and  demoralised, 
fall  into  the  class  known  as  the  Arabs  of  the  Street,  those 
victims  of  parental  neglect  or  unprovided  orphanage,  that, 
as  they  arrive  at  manhood,  mature  into  a  still  more  danger- 
ous class— the  roughs  and  rowdies  of  the  city,  who  are 
ready  for  every  kind  of  mischief,  and  to  whom  excitement, 
no  matter  at  whatever  expense  it  may  be  purchased,  be- 
comes the  first  necessity  of  their  existence. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that,  in  my  earnest  desire  to 
direct  the  practical  attention  of  my  countrymen,  at  both 
sides  of  the   Atlantic,  to   an  evil   of  universally  admitted 
magnitude,  I  desire  to  exaggerate  in  the  least.     From  the 
very  nature  of  things,  the  great  cities  of  America— and  in 
a  special  degree  New  York— must  be'  the  refuge   of  the 
unfortunate,  the  home  of  the  helpless— the  hiding-j^lace  of 
the  broken-down,  even  of  the  criminal  ;  and  these,  while 
crowding   the    dwelling-places  of  the  poor,  and    straining 
the  resources   and  preying  on   the  charity  of  their  com° 
muuities,  multiply  their  existing  ovils,   and  add  to  their 
vices.     Still,  in  spite  of  the  dangers  and  temptations  by 
which  they  are  perpetually  surrounded— dangers  and  temp- 
tations springing  even  from  the  very  freedom  of  republican 
institutions  no  less  than  from  the  generous  social  habits 
of  the  American    people— there  are  thousands,  hundreds 
of  thousc'inds,  of  Irish-born  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
residing  in  New  York  and  in  the  other  great  cities  of  the 
Union,  who  are  in  every  respect  the  equals  of  the  best  of 
American  population  —  honourable   and   upright   iu  their 
dealings  ;  industrious,  energetic,  and  enterprising  in  busi- 


ni 


3 


''^ 


■i 


23C 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMP]IIICA. 


ncsH  ;  intolli<>ont  and  quick"  of  capacity  ;  proore^sivG  and 
go-ub(iad  ;  and  aH  loyally  devoted  to  the  institutions  of 
their  adoptc-d  country  as  if  tlu^  had  bee:'  born  under  its 
ilanf.  Nevertheless,  I  repeat  the  assertion,  justifusd  by 
innumerable  authorities— autlioritios  beyond  the  faint(\st 
shadow  of  suspicion— that  the  city  is  not  the  ri<^ht  place 
for  the  Irish  peasant,  and  that  it  is  the  worst  place  which 
he  could  select  as  his  home. 

The  Irish  peasant,  who  quits  his  native  country  for  En- 
gland or  Scotland,  may  be  excused  for  hiding  himself  in 
any  of  its  great  towns,  manufacturing  or  commercial,  in- 
land or  seaport  ;   for  not  only  may  he  find  employment  for 
hmiself,  and  have  some   chance   for  his  young  people  in 
them,  but  there  is  no  opportunity  of  his  much  bettering 
his  condition  by  goinjjf  into  the  country.     But  there  is  no 
excuse  whatever  for  his  rcmnining  in  the  cities  of  America, 
crowding  and  blocldng  them   up,  when  there  are  at  this 
hour   as   many   opportunities    for  his   getting   on   in   the 
country— that  is,    making  a  home   and   independence  for 
himself  and  his  cliildren— as  there  were  for  the  millions 
of  all  nationahties  *who  went  before  him,   and  who   now 
constitute  the  strength  and  -lory  of  the  Republic.     The 
Irish  peasant  who  goes  to  England  or  Scotland  has  little 
chance  of  being  accepted  even  as  the  tenant  of  a  farm  in 
either  of  those  countries— a  remote  one,  indeed,  of  ever  be- 
coming a  proprietor  of  EngHsh  or  Scottish  soil ;  but  the 
most    miserable  cottier  of   Connemara  or   the  worst-paid 
day-labourer   of  Cork    or   Tipperary,  who   has   the   good 
sense  to   push   on   from  the  American  seaboard    towards 
those  vast  regions  of  virgin  land  that  woo  the  hardy  vigour 
of  the  pioneer,  may  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  possess 
hundreds  of  acres  of  real  estate  l)y  a  more  glorious  title 
than  has  been  too  often  actpiircd  in  the  old  eountrics  of 
Europe,  his  own  included— by  the  ri-ht  of  patient  industry, 
blessed  toil,  and  sanctifying  privation. 


fressivG  and 
titiitioiis  of 
11  uiulor  its 
justifusd  by 
tlio  fiiint(\st 
rij^ht  pltioo 
l)lji(',e  Avhicli 

itry  for  Eu- 
•  liinisolf  in 
niorcial,  in- 
loyniont  for 
f  people  in 
I  bottorinj^ 
there  ia  no 
)f  America, 
are  at  this 
on  in  the 
ndencc  for 
le  millions 
\vlio  now 
iblic.     The 

I  has  little 
a  farm  in 

of  ever  be- 

1 ;  but  the 

worst-i^aid 

the   good 

II  towards 
rdy  vigour 
irs  possess 
>rious  title 
luntries  of 
t  industrv. 


CHAPTER  XTT. 

Tho Land  tlio  giviii,  R-.souiro  for  tlic  EiiiiKiiint- -Cases  in  Point  ^ 
An   Inshnian  sofially  nMloomcd  -Moiv  liistanrcs  of  Success  on 

!''^'  V'^'"' •^'>  ''••^1'   l'>'l)lic  Opinion  \vanle(r-InsliSe(tIcnients 

111  Minncs()ta  an.I  Illinois  TI.e  Puhlic  Lands  of  Anieiiea- Tim 
Coa  and  fron  of  Anierica  -  Down  Sonlli  A  Kildaie  Man  in  tlio 
.Son  li-lippc-ary  Men  in  the  Sontli-Tlie  Climate  or  tlie  Soiilli— 
Calilornui  an  UlusLnilion  of  the  Uiio  I'olicy. 

JTIVERY  mile  I  travelled,  every  man  I  met,  every  answer  I 
'j  received,  tendcnl  the  more  to  convince  me  that  the  land 
was  the  g.-and  resource  for  the  Irish  emigrant,  as  well  as 
tho  safest  and  surest  means  of  his  advancement.  It  mat- 
tered not  whether  it  were  Car.ada  or  the  States,  it  was 
equally  the  samej  and,  y.nxc  industry,  energy,  and  strength, 
little  was  necessary  to  enable  the  humble  man  to  make  a 
home  for  himself  and  his  children. 

Walking    one    day    with    a    friend   in  a   eity   of  Upper 
Can.ada,  I  was  attracted  by  the  gentlemanly  air  and  man- 
ner of  a  young  man  whom  my  companion  saluted;  and  on 
my  asking  who   he  was,  and   remarking  that  he  had  the 
appearance  of  a  gentleman,  my  friend  replied,  'Yes,  he  is 
a  nice  fellow,  thoroughly  educated  and  accomj^hshed,  and 
a  smart  man  in  his  profession,   too.     He,  sir,  is   the'  son 
of   an   Irishman— an  Irisli  labourer— who    came  out  here 
without  a  penny   in   the  world,  and  yet  who  died  a  rich 
man,  after  bringing  up  his  children  as  well  as  the  first 
gentleman  in  the  land.     He  was  a  labourer  on  the  canal ; 
and  instead  of  doing  what  too  many  of  our  people  are  so 
fond  of  doing— stopping  in  the  town— he  contrived  to  buy 
a  bit  of  land,  which  he  cleared  from  time  to  time,  taking 
an  occasional  job  to  procure  provision  for  the  winter;  and 


'-3 


■  i 


i 

i 


I 


2:i8 


TIIK  FUISH  IN  AMKUICA. 


BO  bo  frot  on,  iuh]\n>r  to  hi.s  properly  y(!jir  uftcr  year,  until 
you  HOC)  tlio  r<!Hult  in  liin  Hon,  wlio  Ih  now  ii  ri.sin«(  prolas- 
Hional  nmn,  iind  who  iiikcH  liis  pluco  iinion^'  tlio  ariHtui-nitio 
chiHseH.  J)(>,  in  (,'otrs  mimr,!  adviHe  your  tvunfri/nwn  to  dick 
to  Ihr.  land— what  liwij  know  mod  ahout.' 

•All!  Hir,'  Hiiid  an  IriHliniuii,  wlio  luul  Innm  many  voarw 
in  tli(«  StaioH,  and  wlioni  1  mot  iu  a  j^a-oat  contralcity,  'I 
niudo  u  Had  niistako  whon  I  oanio    out    luao    lirnt.     I  am 
from    tlio    woHt    of  tlio  county   Cork,  and  I  mw  im^n<rud 
in  f.irmino-  l,(>foro  I  left  Ireland;  it  was  my  businiiSH.     But 
I  don't  know  how  it  Avas,  I  allowinl  mywolf  to  Htay  in  tho 
town,  and  tho  timo  passod,  and  thon  it  was  too  lato,  and  I 
hadn't    tho    hoart  to  mako  a  now  (ilVort.     I  am  Horry  for 
it  now.     Tliaidc  Ood,   I  am  ablo    to   livo,   after  ediiclitinj,' 
my  family,  and  doin^^  for  them;  but  if  I  wont,  as   othcu-s 
did,  to  tho  country,  and  took  a  farm,  and   stuck   to  tho 
business  I  know  best,  I'd  bo  an  indop(.ndont  nmn  now  in 
my  old  ao(>.     It  was  a  frr-sat  mistake,  sir,  and  tho  more  I 
think  of  it,  tho  more  I  vv^^vct  it.     My  heart  siuks  in  mo  at 
tnnos  when  I  think   of  what  I  mi-ht  bo  this  day,  if  I  had 
only  tho  sense  to  do  the  rio-ht  thinjr  at  tho  ri-ht  time.' 

Spondin.,-  a  Sunday  not  far  from  tho  Falls  of  Nia^^ara,  I 
was  spoakinn;  with  a  number  of  respectable  Irishmen  wlio 
had  boon  many  years  from  Ireland,  and  to  whom  tho  cir- 
cumstances of  their  countrymen  in  the  surroundin--  districts 
were  thoroughly  known.  I  turned  tho  conversation  in  tho 
direction  most  interestiiifr  to  me— the  position  of  tho  Irish, 
and  the  manner  in  which  thoy  had  got  on.  The  subject 
was  one  which  excited  the  sympathies  and  aroused  the 
recollections  of  my  new  acquaintances,  who  detailed  as 
many  instances  of  successful  thrift  and  patient  industry 
as  would  fill  several  pages. 

Two  Irishmen  wore  working  as  helpers  in  a  blacksmith's 
Bhop  at  Niagara  Docks,  in  184i,  and  having  saved  some 
money,  they  each  purchased  100  acres  of  land,  at  a  dollar 
an  acre.     One  iu  particular,  after  bringing  his  family  with 


CAHKH  IN  POINT. 


280 


him  to  their  now  licnio,  and  pnrchfisin^  an  axo,  had  but 
tliiT(.-.|nart(>rH  of  a  dollur  in  liis  i)os.so.sHi()n.      Thoso  men 
(livi.i(,(l   thoir  timo   betwoon  mn-kin^  f„r    tlioni8olv(,.s   and 
oIIkth;    at   one    timo   dioi.pin-   away  witli  tho   (ner-buHv 
axp,  at    another    liirin^^   thoir  hibonr  to  tho    nci-hbonrin.r 
suttlcrH,  who  wore  anxious  to  obtain  th(,"ir  Kcrvices.     In  tho 
Hunini(>r  luontlm  they  carinjd  as  nmdi  an  onablod  thoni  to 
livo  durin-   tho  wintor,  wlien  thoy  >voro  hard  at  work  at 
homo,  clcann^r  ,ind  f(,.nci„<r ;    and  wlicn  thoy  had  (.r(,])|,od 
thoir  own  hmd  thoy  wont  out  to  work  a-ain.     At  tho  timo 
of  which   tlioir  story  was  tluis  told,  thoy  woro  oaoh  in  tlio 
possossion  of  200  acros  of  oh^irod  land,  with  horsos,  cattle- 
good  houses,  and  evory  comfort  that  reasonable  men  could 
desire.     It  may  bo  curious  to  speculate  what  would  have 
boon   their   destiny,  had  thoy  continued  at  the  drudgery 
from   which    they   emancipated   themselves   by  their   own 
energy. 

These   were    individual    instances,    casually  mentioned 
and  only  remarkable  from  the  fact  of  the  two  men  havin-'- 
mutually  agreed  to  do   the   same  thing  ;   but  there  were 
numbers   of    other  cases   of    equally   successful   industry. 
There  was,  for  instance,  a  labourer   who  left   work   on  u 
canal  for  a  contractor,  for  work  on  the   land  for  himself  ; 
and  he  also  was  the  proprietor  of  200  acres  of  fee  simple 
estate,  having  given  to  his  children— both  of  whom  were 
members  of    learned  profes-sions-a  first-class   education. 
In  fact,  there  were  as  many  as  a  hundred  Irish  families  in 
the   surrounding  district,  who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  ex- 
perienced gentleman  to  whom  they  were  well  known,  had 
not  brought  with  them  altogether  500/.,  and  yet  who  too 
occupied  good  farms  of  their  own  creation,  then  their  own 
property,  and  were  looked  upon  as  otherwise  independent 
in  their  means. 

One  of  the  most  experienced  men  in  Canada,  who  has 
been  long  cor  nected  with  emigration,  thus  gives  his  opinion 
us  to  the  best  mode  by  which  an  emigrant  who  is  resolved 


'3 


1 

I 


3 

'J 


240 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


on  turning  his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  who  possesses 
no  other  caintal  than  what  he  has  received  from  Provi- 
dence, can  get  on  in  the  new  world  : — 

'One  or  two  years'  service  with  a  farmer,  particularly- 
one  v»ho  has  himself  earned  his  competency  and  comforts 
through  trials  and  from  a  hard  beginning,  should  be 
deemed  an  indispensable  preparation  for  the  settler  before 
undertaking  the  clearing  up  of  land  on  his  own  account. 
With  that  knowledge,  he  could  obtain  through  the  year,  in 
the  favt)urable  months,  enough  of  cash  to  buy  provisions 
and  necessaries  for  his  family  ;  and  in  the  winter  and  early 
sx)ring  months,  before  hired  help  would  be  required,  he 
could  work  to  iDiich  real  advantage  for  himself.'  What 
ai)plies  to  Canada  applies  equally  well  to  the  same  work 
and  the  same  circumr^jtances  in  the  States. 

An  ,  Irishman,  observing  the   marked   difference   in   the 
circumstance  and  position  of  the  same  class  of  his  country- 
men in  America  in  town  and  country,  might  be  excused 
for  supposing  there  was  sometliing  spccinll}'-  sacred  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil — in  man  toiling  in  the  sweat  of  his 
brow  to  raise  from  the  fruitful  bosom  of  the  Great  Mother 
food  for  the  sustenance  of  the   human  family.      Whether 
this  be  a  fanciful  notion  or   not,  it    is  certain    that,  in  a 
moral  point   of    view,    agricultural    occupations  not    only 
jpreserve  the  simplicity  and  even  purity  of  Hfe  so  usually 
to  be  found  in  the  rural  districts  of  almost  every  country, 
but  even  restore  to  primitive  tastes  and  regularity  of  life 
those  who  return  to  them  as  a  change.      iiie  easy-going 
haunter   of    the   tavern   and   the  grog-shop   in   the   town 
be<.'omes  a  steady  and  abstemious  mai.  when  on  his  farm; 
and  even  the  loose  purposeless  idler  of  the  city  hardens 
into   unwonted  energy  when  he  exclinngos  its  enervating 
atmosphere  for   the   bracing   air  and  wholesome    pursuits 
of  the  country.     I  have  had  many  proof ;  that  this  is  so  in 
America  ;  but  one  case,  though,  presenting  no  remarkable 
features,  particularly  impressed  mc  at  the  time. 


-eir^=, 


AN  IRISH.\fAN  SOCIALLY  REDEEMED.  241 

I  was  stopping  witli  a  gonial  countryman  in  a  thriving 
town  .n  tho  State  of  Illinois,  which  w/«  snrround  d T^ 
nch  farming  country,  tlie  land  mostly  prairie     My  host 
was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  men  in  fte  town  or  M 
and  enjoyed  tho  highest  character  for  energy,  probfty  and 
benevolence.      Like   most  Iri.shmen  in  the  "me  tolUy 
he  was  the  solo  architect  of  his  own  fortunes.      In  Ms 
uitemgent  company  I  visited  several  farms  owned  by  our 

tie  to,vn       Now,  sa.d  my  companion,  as  his  stout  hor.se8 
struggled  through  the  heavy  soil  of  the  road,  'I  will  slow 

..  better  or  a  steadier  man  in  tho  whole  country  than  i.s 
owner.     He   is  doing  well,  too,  and  has  brought  up  h  s 
children  nicely,  though  he  had  little  enough  when  he  com 
meneod,  as  I  could  tell.     Here  we  are  a!  the  g"  te    and 
Z'^'^-t^'n'T'^  -  t^e  -ia«t  of  his'bo;sand 
offiecs-all  fully  jastified  the  description  given  of   them  ■ 
and  the  owner,  whom  we  found  hard  at  woft,  aiib°y„g  an 
sample  o    industry  to  his  young  people,  wks  in  keeping 
utZt      '  'Tf  'r'~^<-OeoUMe  and  substantial 

01   to  tell  of  his  mortification  when  he  found   tl,„f  i.- 
Uospitablo  offers  of   bed  and  board  could  ntt  bo    ccepted 

luatter  of  course,  and  no  one  is  more  rojoieed  than  the 
Insh-Ameriean  to  welcome  one  who  is  'fresh  from  the 
dear  old  country.'  During  our  drive  home  myfriend 
assured  me  there  was  not  in  the  neighbourhood  and  for 
long  way  round,  a  man  more  respected  or  more  generaUv 
ooked  up  to  than  the  Irishman  we  had  just^u  tte" 
His  opmion,'  he  added,  'is  asked,  and  taken  moreo  er 

andhe^rsttem-         '  ""  '"^"^""^  '■^^^-'^  ^  ^^' 

II 


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242 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


The   next  morning  I  had   a  long  and  interesting  con 
versation  with   an   American    gentleman   largely   connect- 
ed   with    property    in     the    locality.       The    conversation 
hai^pcning  to  turn  wpon  the  point  respecting  which  I  was 
ever  on  the  look-out,  if  not  for  information,  at  least  ior 
('onfirmation  of  my  own  conviction, — that  the  right  place 
for  the  Irish  peasant  was  the  land, — the  American  said : 
'It  has  often  surprised  me  how  it  is  that   an   essentially 
agricultural  people  like  the  Irish  will  not  invariably  turn 
to  the  same  pursuit  in  this  country,  where  they  can  have 
all  they   desire — land   cheap   and  abundant,  Avith  an  un- 
disputed  title,    and  no   one  to   trouble   or   dixSturb   them. 
However,  we  have  a  good  many  of  your  countrymen  em- 
ployed in  what  I  regard  as  their  legitimate  and  natural 
avocation,  and  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  they  are  all  doing  well. 
I  know  Irishmen  who  have  been  doing  nothing,  or  worse 
than  nothing,  in  the  town,  and  who  became  altogether  dif- 
ferent men  when  they  went  into  the  country.     I  remember 
one  of  them ' — and  he  mentioned  the  name  of  the  well- 
known  farmer  I  liad  visited  the  day  before — 'and  so  long 
as  he  remained  in  the  town  he  was  doing  very  little  good ; 
in  fact,  he  was  falling  into  vicious  habits,  and  was  losing 
himself  day  by  da}-.     Fortunately  for  himself,  he  had  the 
good  sense  to  see  that  that  kind  of  thing  wouldn't  do  much 
longer,  and  so  he  resolved  to  change  his  mode  of  life.     He 
left  the   town — cut  it  altogether — shook  its  dust  from  his 
Bandals ;  he  got  a  small  bit  of  land,  worked  at  it  like  a  man. 
— I  know^  how  hard  he  worked, — and  soon  increased  his 
farm,  until,  ere  very  long,  it  became  a  large  one.    .And 
not  long  since  he  purchased  a  considerable  property   in 
addition ;    and,  what  is   more,   he   has   paid   nearly   every 
dollar  of  the  purchase-money.     I  was  asked  by  a  gentleman 
of  this  place  whether  this  property  was  sold,  and  I  said  it 
was — that  Mr.  So  and  So  had  bought  it.  •   "  What !  "   saitl 
he.  "did  von  trust  him?     Whv,  when  I  remember  him.  ho 
was  an  idle  do-nothing  loafer,  whom  nobody  would  trust 
with  the  price  of  a  bushel  of  api)les.     T  am  amazed  at  your 


jresting  con 
ely   connect" 
conversation 

which  I  waa 

at  least  ior 
i  right  place 
lerican  said : 
11  essentially 
variably  turn 
ley  can  have 
with  an  un- 
isturb  them, 
itrymen  em- 

and  natural 
11  doing  well, 
ng,  or  worse 
together  dif- 

I  remember 
of  the  well- 
and  so  long 

little  good; 
i  was  losing 

he  had  the 
[n't  do  mnch 

of  life.  He 
List  from  his 
t  like  a  man. 
Qcreased  his 
)  one.  .And 
property  in 
1  early  every 
a  gentleman 
and  I  said  it 
Hiat!"  said 
iber  him,  ho 
would  trust 
fized  at  vour 


MORE  INSTANCES  OF  SUCCESS  ON  THE  LAND.  213 

cUaKiUci   of  the  man:  lie  may  have  been  wliat  vou  sav 
1.    was  when  you  i„ew  him-that  was  many  yearag 
but  I  to     you  ther«  is  not  a  more  worthy  or  respectable 
man  m  the  countrythan  he  is.     And  not  only  ha™!  soU 
the  property  to  him,  but  I  got  half  the  purehase-mo„  J 

that  h  tie  I  can  have  at  any  moment-to-monw    if  I 
please.'     "Well,"  said  the  gentleman,  "  I  am  glad  t^' ha 
It,  I  spoke  from  my  remembrance  when  I  used  to  «» 
hna  m  the  town,  and  I  inow  him  to  be  rather  a  ooseflsl 
uud  generally  in  some  kind  of  row  or  other      Thot  i 
leant  have  the  property,  I  rejoice  it  is  in  good  hands'" 
Now  sir,  you  see  how  quitting  the  town  and  goin.  on  the 

«kZ;ite"""-^^'"™^°'"'-^'-^^'-^^^ 

growing  family  one  of  the  surest  sources  of  his  prosperi"y 

o  miiT!  l7'f  °^;™*  ^*'"''  ™P"'«'i  l>«al«'  ahke 
-it  mutt  ''°*\,f»-  'li'l  1-  "eglect  their  education 
-rt  must  be  a  wortldoss  Irish  father  who  will  do  so ;  and 

y  nohi:f:f7'    '""^"'S-™^'   ''■^'^  -S°--    I'-lt'h,   to 
say  nothing  of  his  own  respectabihty  and  the  oniet  L-^ 

puiess  of  his  .ife.  who  had  her  troubLs  in    he  out    tif 

W.S  the  best  reward  of  his  moral  courage  and  persevin 

He  might  have  remamed  all  his  life  a  mere  drudge  in  the 

ndistW     %"  *'j«''bsolute  owner  of  600  acres  rf  "and 
and  is  the  founder  of  a  prosperous  family. 

From  the  following  passage  of  a  letter  received  from  ■^ 
Ignitary  of  the  CathoHc  Church,   himself  an   MshrTan 

e^otc  themselves  to  a  congenial  pursuit,  it  will  be  seen 
how  lack  of  mere  money-capital  is  no  iu;uperable  Lr  to 


^»! 


*  -"■'mt 
■'  i 


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211 


THE  Iinsil  IN  AMERICA. 


julvanoeinonh  so  long  as  tlioro  is  Luul  to  occupy,  and  there 
aro  men  and  woiuou  with  str(Mi<^lh  and  ijitiilligoncc  to 
culiivato  it.     Tho  writer  ^oii»  oii  to  say  : — 

'On(!0,  ill  visitiu/4'  tlio  diocu^so  of  PittKburj^h,  I  heard  that 
th(n-o  were  some  Irish  Cathohes  hvinj^  in  the  extrenu!  end 

of county,  Poniisylvania,  which  was  also  tho  extremes 

point  of  the  dioc(!se.  I  resolved  to  try  and  see  them.  I 
arrived  there  Lite  in  tlie  afternoon,  and  the  arrangements 
already  made  did  not  pcu-mit  me  to  stay  longcu*  than  the 
afternoon  of  tho  n(!xt  day.  The  poor  people  were  delighted 
to  have  ]\lass,  and  an  op2)ortunity  of  approaching  the 
Sa,(M-am(nits.  I  found  about  twcnity  familicss  loJio  had 
S('///('(f.  /lu'i'c.  diiriiKj  the  praoiou^  Uirv.e.  or  four  yaars. 
Th(\y  had  all  farms  of  tlieir  own;  nearly  all  had  paid  for 
them,  and  had  their  land  enough  ch^ared  to  be  able  to 
Bui)i)ort  tlienlselvc^s  well  on  it  thereafter.  Tliey  Imd  taken 
up  the  land  at  a  low  |>rice,  and  ^\^)v^)  able  to  give  time 
enough  to  work  for  hire  amongst  the  older  settUu's,  while 
they  had  time  enough  remaining  to  clear  and  cultivate 
each  year  an  additional  portion  of  their  own  land.  It  was 
the  realisation  of  a  system  whi(;h  I  had  often  recommended, 
and  which  might  be  carried  out  almost  to  any  extent,  that 
woidd  enal>le  our  aountri/niaa  to  be  ^>ropy7"('/'(>r.s  of  the  soil, 
instead  of  remain  ing  drudges  in  our  towns  and  cities.' 

In  support  of  my  assertion,  that  the  country  is  the  right 
place  for  the  Irish  peasant,  and  tliat  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil  he  has  the  best  and  surest  means  of  advancement 
for  himself  and  his  family,  I  cannot  do  more,  in  a  work  of 
this  kind,  than  prove,  by  a  few  cases  hi  point,  that  the  advice 
I  earnestly  give  to  my  countrymen  at  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  is  for  their  benefit,  and  for  the  honour  of  tlunr 
race  and  country.  There  is  not  in  America  a  better  man 
or  truer  Irishman  than  tho  writer  of  tho  words  I  have  just 
quoted ;  and  I  may  add,  that  there  are  not  twenty  men 
in  the  whole  of  the  States  who,  from  long  and  varied  ex- 
perience, and  intimate  knowledge  of  their  countrymch,  can 
Bpeuk  with  greater  weight  of  authortity  than  ho  can. 


AN  IRISH  PUBLIC  OPINION  WANTED.  246 

Turninfr    from    roniiHylvauia    to    Miiuiesotu,  ^vo  have  a 
picture  of  progress  as  like  UH  possible  to  maiiy  which  have 
Hh-eudy  appeared  in  th(^s(i  pa-os.     I  take  it  from  the  valued 
c.>niT.mm(.itioii  of   a  zealous   and  a]>le  Irishman*    in    the 
littter  State,  who-associated  with  other  Irishmen,  including? 
a  «-ood  pnest-is  successfully  labourin^j  in  what  I  believe 
to  be  the  niost  prac=tically  patriotic  cause  that  could  oivra^o 
tiio    attention    and    enlist    the    active    sympathies    of  my 
cHnmtrymen    in    America-such    Irishmen    as,    by    worth 
education,  or  position,  can    exercise    a    salutary  influence 
over  those  who  stand  in  need  of  guidance  or,  if  necessary 
ussistan(,e  to  secure  for  themselves  a  home  and  an  honest 
independence.     Advice,  guidance,  information,  influence- 
these  are  even  more    valuable    than    pecuniary  aid  ;    and 
these    recpure    little    sacrifice,    even    of    time.      What    is 
r<3(pured  for  the  uplifting   of   thousands  and  thousands-1 
n.-^y  huiKlreds    of   thousands-of  Irish   in    America,  is  an 
acivG,  energetic,  out-spoken    Irish    Public    Opinion,    that 
will  make  its  voice  and '  influence  heard  and  felt  in  every 
direction,  warning  those  who  will  take  warning,  and  saving 
hose  who  can  be  saved  from  misery  and  degradation.     To 
be  potent  for  good,  every  organisation  should  be,  like  that 
m  Minnesota,  free  from    the   taint  of  speculation    or    the 
suspicion  of  jobbery;  and  there  is  not  a  State  in  the  Union 
or  a  great,  city,  in  which  there  should  not  be  found  a  few 
honourable    and   influential   Irish  gentlemen,   who    would 
join    together    for    a    purpose    which  concerns    heir  own 
reputation  inasmuch  as  it  con^^erns  the  reputation  of  the 
i-ace    o  which  they  belong,   and    cannot   repudiate.     It  is 
considered  by  Irishmen  in  America  a  noble  and  patriotic 
object  to  regenerate,  by  arms  and  revolution,  Jie  milHons 
|i    home  ;    but   surely  to   lift  up  the  millions  who  are  in 
cidl      T      '    :7S-enerate    them  morally,  materially,  and 

ughtly  directed  industry^- -to  elevate  the  race  in  the  esteem 
Mr.  Dillon  O'Brien,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 


''.•^ 


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THE  IlilSII  IN  AMERICA. 


of  tli(3  (ni]i'jcht(»no(l  jind  goneivnis-miiulcd  of  tlio  American 
people, —(.liiH  in  an  object  more  practicjil,  in  no  way  liazard- 
(lus  or  injurious  to  any  interest  or  individual  whatever,  and 
certainly  not  l(!ss  noble  or  i)atriotie. 

But  all  this  while  tlie  brief  picture  of  an  Irish  Settlement 
in  MiniK^sota  is  pressing  for  attention.  The  writer  is  the 
Honorary  S(>cretary  of  the  Irish  Emigrant  Society  of  St. 
Paul,  who,  by  no  means  indilFerent  to  the  value  of  a  httlo 
moiuiy  capital,  thus  sliows  what  Irishmen  have  done  witrh 
the  (Jod-^iven  capital  of  strength,  skill,  and  patient  in- 
dustry : — 

'  Alcn  who  (;onnnenced  the  very  poorest  are  to-day  well 
olF.  Let  nm  give  you  an  instance.  Sixty  miles  west  of 
St.  Paul,  on  the  IMinncsota  river,  Sibly  county,  is  the 
Irish  Settlenusnt  of  Jessen  laud.  About  thirteen  years 
an-o  the  first  steamer  that  went  up  the  IVEinnesota  landed 
two  brothers  of  the  name  of  Doheny,  and  a  man  the  name 
of  Young,  all  from  "gallant  Tippcu-ary,"  at  this  place, 
then  an  unbroken  wilderness.  Perhai)s  they  were  the  first 
white  men  who  ever  stood  there.  AVell,  they  set  to  work, 
cut  down  a  tr(>e  here  .and  there,  put  in  a  few  hills  of 
potatoes,  jilanted  a  little  corn,  put  a  few  sticks  fnd  logs 
together,  and  called  them  houses.  This  was  all  necessary 
at  the  time  to  fulfil  the  recpiirements  of  the  law.  In  this 
way  they  made  claims,  not  ak)ne  for  themselves,  but  for 
friends  in  the  East,  and  became  owners  of  a  large  tract 
of  splendid  kind.  When  all  this  was  accomphshed  their 
money  was  run  out ;  so  they  returned  to  St.  Paul,  and 
went  again  to  work.  In  the  following  spring  they  again 
went  up  the  Minnesota,  this  time  bringing  their  families, 
and  the  friends  for  whom  they  had  made  land  entries,  with 
them.  To-day  this  settlement,  and  Walter  and  Tom  Do- 
luMiy,  wh(j  started  it,  are  a  credit  to  us  all.  The  settle- 
ment has  two-storey  handsome  ';irm-houses  and  barns,  i!.s 
church,  jiriest,  and  school.  Its  j)cople  are  what  the  Irish 
peasant  can  become  even  in   the  first  generation — intelti- 


lUrSII  SETTLEMBMTS  IN  JHNNI«OTA  ANU  lU.lSOlA.    m 

gent,  i,uln»tno„s,  op,.„.l.eartc,l,  gccr,,,,.,  Inav,.,  „„,!  i.,- 
.1-1.0  ..l«..t.  WI>on  I  want  to  l,o  rc.,>i„,l,.d  of  ,ny  cl,.„r 
i;"i>iitrv,  I  Kpcud  a  day  in  Josscu  Land.'  ' 

Hero  i»  a  more  (ilimpso  of  the  Irisl,  i„  Illinois  • 
An    e.eellent    IrinLman.    ro.si.ling    in    OI,icago,    whoso 
.nsmoss  a.  a  commission  ,vf;ent,  has  for  the  last  ten  years 
l.rougl.t  Inm  mto  constant  communication  with  his  connt.-y- 
n.en  of  the  fanning  classes,  not  only  throughout  Illinois, 
but  several  other   of  the  Western  States,  s,rys:  .Tl„.,-e  i^ 
..ot  a  county  of  the  one  hun,lre,l  counties  of  which  Illinois 
>.s   composea,  that  has   not  representatives   fran>  Irela  u 
mnong  .ts  farnnng  population ;  and  1  am  proud  to  say  to 
™.    and  the  worR  that  where  the  Irish  flrnrer  once  gets 
tUcd  down  np,jn  h.s  fann,  in  this  his  western  homo,  that 
ho  shows  as  much  energy  and  go-aheadishnoss  as  emigrants 
•■•om  any  other  part  of  the   world.     Wo  have,  in  ^hnos 
every  county,  what  are  known  as  Irish  sottlen.ents  founded 
In-  some  early  adventurous  Irishnnun     Soverd  are  of  ..reat 
extent ;  that  for  instance,  founded  by  Mr.  NoiU  Donmdly, 

Ihcic  aic  throe  good-sized  Catholic  churches  and  several 
exceUont  district  schools  in  this  settlement,  in  which  -hero 
rs  much  comfort  and  prosperity.'  After  referring  to  tho 
januony  m  which  the  Irish  live  with  all  nationalities,  and 
the  mu  ual  w.lhnguess  to  assist  and  servo  each  othe  ■,  my 
exeoUent  fnond  adds:  '^Nothing  less  d.an  80  acre  S 
|UKl  i.s  worth  while  to  have  out  here,  although  occ^ionaU-- 

>o„  ^!      H  ■"  "•'""/"™  "'  *'^  '"'"''■'   "»'  "  i«  looked 
ni  on  as  nothing  in  this  part  of  the  world.     Some  of  my 

ln.h  frienas  m  Donnelly's  and  other  settlements,    have 

MO  acr-es  e.ach,  and  ahnost   all  at  le.ast  120  acres     Far- 

orwhoa?  ir,"""'or"  °''''"  '"^  ""^  "-''^^   ''^y  2«  -ores 
«heat,  10,  or  20,  or  40  acres  of  corn,  so  many  acres 

o    oats,  rye,  barley,  potatoes,  &c.,  according   to~thc   size 
ou.   Ir,.h  farmers,   I  will  mention  that  often,  in   tha 


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248 


TIIR  IRISH  IN  AMr:RI^CA. 


coiu-RO  of  my  busiiioRs,  I  liavo  at  ono  iirno  sold  as  hipli 
as  one  ihoasatul  JoUarH'  wovtli  of  pork,  Liittcr,  anil  wheat, 
for  one  Irish  farmer ;  and  I  can  tell  you  he  had  not  much 
when  lio  l)e«van  the  world  here.  But  industry,  and,  abovo 
all,  sohrichj,  will  carry  an  Irishman  throuj^li  any  dilliculty. 
Wo  should  not  have  to  see  a  poor  man  in  any  of  our  bi<^ 
cities  while  there  is  a  glorious  iState  like  this,  with  the 
best  laL  ds  to  bo  had  for  little.  What  I  say  of  Illinois  can 
also  bo  said  of  AVisconsin,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota,  as  well  as 
of  Indiana,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska.  All  tliis  vast 
country  offers  inducements  to  thrifty,  honcvst  settlers,  such 
as  no  other  country  can  ofTer ;  and  our  people,  many  of 
whom  are  wasting  their  energies  in  (iastern  cities,  would  do 
well  to  avail  themselves  of  them.  I  tell  you  it  would  bene- 
fit them  soul  as  well  as  body  to  do  so.' 


To  one  who  hears  so  much  as  I  have  heard  of  the  less 
than  21,000,000  acres  of  Ireland,  iind  the  77,000,000  of 
the  Avholo  of  the  United  Kingdom— including  England, 
Wales,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  every  island  adjoining  or 
belonging  thereto — the  idea  of  the  acreage  of  the  United 
States  is  simply  bewildering.  One  would  require  a  gigantic 
mind  to  grasp  or  comi:)rehend  a  thing  in  itself  so  gigantic. 
Practically  speaking,  the  public  lands,  or  those  which  have 
not  passed  into  individual  ownership,  are  illimitable. 
INIillions  and  millions  of  square  miles,  hundreds  of  millions 
of  acres,  never  yet  surveyed — millions  and  millions  of 
square  miles,  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  acres  surveyed, 
but  not  occupied,  and  capable  of  absorbing,  for  centuries, 
the  surplus  population  of  Europe.  Almost  any  one  of  the 
new  Territories — which  will  be  the  States  of  to-moiTow — 
would  swallow,  at  a  bite,  as  a  child  would  a  cherry,  all  the 
agricultural  population  of  Ireland,  with  its  proprietors, 
resident  and  absentee,  included.  One  thing,  however,  is 
indisputable — that  the  Irish  who  have  emigrated,  or  who 


Tim  VVBLK  LANfJS  OF  AJIEltlCA.  u$ 

•n.iy  cm,i«r„(,c.  t„  Au„.ri,.,a,  «„j;l,t  to  firul  „.,  ,lini,„„,.  ;„ 

H.nt,njj  th.,m.s..lv,.s  ;  ,.1h.,,  tlmt  tluTo  u™  ,.«  f;„„a  duvncos 

'-.lay  f.„-  (  ,„  ),„1,1  ,„,.],  ,.,lvoiit„r„uH  as  there  were  ten,  or 

TliouKh  it  is  ,litKoult  to  .m,r,l  ,x, sober  i<loH  of  ,vl.at  is  of 
>lxM  ,ve  1  i„.h  inco,„,,roh<,n»il,Io  from  its  very  vastnesa,  I 
..ms  e.uloavonr  to  rei.resent,  and  that  as  briefly  as  possi- 
ble the  extent  of  the  I'ubUe  Lands  of  tlio  XJnitecl'su.tos. 

rho   t,.tal   extent  of   the  Public  Lands  of  the  United 
States  ,s  l,l(!8,000.()00  acres  ;  of  which  474,100,000  acres 
Imd  been  exiJored  and  surveyed  „p  to  the  close  of  ISGO 
Iho  snrveycd  land  is  generally  well  suited  for  agriculture 
undn,  the  most  favourably  circu.nstanccd  localities,  on  the 
banks  of  streams,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  trunk  roads. 
There  rmuain  unsurveyed,  and  open  to  any  settler  under 
the  Pre-en,ption  Laws,  !)!)1,;108,'249  acres.    In  Colorado,  a 
nch  nnnera    an,l  agricultural  State,  only  1,,TO0,000  acres 
are  surveyed,  and  (i5,0()0,000.  or  nearly  the  extent  of  the 
entire  of  the  Umtc.l  Kingd.mi,  unsurveyed.     In  Washing, 
ton  Territory  !i,.500,000   are   surveyed,  41,000,000  unsur- 
veyed,    m  Oregon,  a  State  into  which  im:nigrants  pour  at 
the  rate  o    20,000  a  year,  only  5,000,000  acres  are  sur- 
veyed   while   5.5.000,000  are  unsurveyed.     In   Kansas,   a 
partially  settled  State,  the  surveys  extend  over  IC  000  000 
ncres,  caving  35,000,000  nnsurveyod.     Nebraska,  IsioOO  000 
out  of  48,000,000.     California,  with  27,000,000  acres    ur- 
veyed,   has   03,000,000  unsurveyed!      This  one   State,   to 
v^'lnch  the  Irish  have  added  so  large  a  portion  of  its  popu- 
lation,  IS  SIX  times  larger  than  Ireland,  or  has  six  times 
more  than  the  number  of  acres  respecting  which  it  ap- 
pears-at  least,  up  to  the  time  these  words  are  written-- 
o  be  so  u.ipossible  to  deal  with  or  legislate  for  aecor  ■■.!„„ 
to    he  dictates  of  man's  wisdom   and   the  principles   of 
Cxods  justice     In   Arizona,   Dacota,   New  Mexico,   Utah, 
Montana,  Idaho,  there  are  enormous  tracts,  to  be  counted 
by  hundreds  of  milhons  of  acres,  of  every  variety  of  soil 


S^V; 


'3 


■■..I 
.« 
i 

■s 

.J 

■m 


3 

■it 


£'.iO 


TlIK  linsn  IN  AMKRICA. 


and  riclily  r  ndowcd  Avitli  iiiincnilH,  opcai  to  tlio  eiulf^rfint 
In  JNTiiiiicsola,  into  wliicli  iiiinii^Tiilioii  has  l)(>(^ii  Hti'onj^'ly 
flowiu}^'  for  yciirs,  Www,  mo  :M,()()(),()00  of  iininirvc.ytHl 
land.  In  tlio  older  of  tlu!  still  iMod/in  SiatcH  tlioro  aro 
vast  tracts  of  land  open  to  tlu  inir''l"i^;cr,  and  all  siir- 
voycd.  Tims,  in  AVisconsin  tlicvo  ar(>  ;{|],()(){),(H)()  acrcR  ; 
in  Iowa,  ar),()()(),()(K)  ;  ^lissouri,  41,000,000  ;  Alahania, 
:{2,000,000  ;  Ohio,  25,000,000  ;  Florida,  2(),000,00  ;  Ar- 
kansas, :{;{,()00,000  ;  Mlsslssi])})!,  no,()00,000  ;  Lnninana, 
2:M>0(),000  ;  Indiana,  21,000,000;  Michioiu,,  iUi,000,t)00  ; 
and  Illinois,  ^5,000,000  acres.  In  tlu;  new  mineral  States, 
such  as  Cohmido  and  Nevada,  the  niininjjf  popidntion 
alVord  a  r(nidy  market  for  all  surplus  a<,a'i('uliural  produce. 
A  couple  of  years  since  ther(i  wvro  prices  for  af^riciiltnra] 
])roduce  in  Colorado  which  would  remind  (»n(^  of  tlu!  state 
of  thiuf^'s  in  (California  durinj,'  the  iirst  rusli  to  the  pfold 
min(>s  ;  but  cultivation  has  now  so  nnich  increased,  that 
the  i)rices,  thou<jfh  most  remimerative,  have  been  eon- 
sidtM-nbly  reduced.  In  the  course  of  time  mininjif  cnter- 
j)rise  will  extend  more  to  Arizona,  M(mtiina,  Idaho,  kc, 
all  the  new  Territories  and  States  bein<,r  rich  in  minerals  ; 
and  as  mininfjc  operations  advance  in  any  locality,  the 
agricultural  population  will  be  correspondingly  benefited. 
In  fact,  with  mining  enterprise,  all  kinds  of  manufac- 
turing industries  gradually  spring  up  ;  and  those  who  are 
thus  engaged  form  the  readiest  and  best  customers  to  the 
farmer,  who  finds  with  them  a  profitable  market  for  his 
surplus  produce  of  every  kind. 

The  Government  surveys  not  only  follow  tlic  course  of 
immigration,  but  meet  its  requirements.  But  there  is 
always  a  large  quantity  of  surveyed  land  in  each  of  the 
new  States,  as  indeed  in  the  others,  avail!d)le  for  imme- 
diate settlement.  Much  of  it  is  prairie,  which  does  not 
present  the  dilHculties  of  thnber  land  in  cultivation. 
The  total  thus  available — offered  or  unoirered--in  18(!G, 
was  sufficient  to  make  831,250  farms  of  IGO    acres  each. 


TIIK  COAI.  AND  IRON  OF  AMKRICA. 


251 


Under  the   Honio.stoad  Law*  a  farm   may  bo  hud.  afc  an 
ahnoHt    iinniiual   price— littlo    moro   than   tlio   cost   of    its 
Hurvoy.       Upon   tho    unmirvoycd    lands    any   person   may 
enter,  and  proceed  to  ai)propriate  and  cnltivafe   a  trac-t ; 
and  when  tho   Rurvoy  nsaclies  and  includes  his   hind,  he 
will   liav(i    th(5    rio-ht   of    pre-e!nption— purcliasinj;'    its    fc.^ 
Himjih! — at   a   small    price,  which   may    be    somewhat    en- 
lianced   by  a  neiohbonrin^'  improvement,  such  as   a   rail- 
I'oad  passino-  witliin  a  certain  distance.     The  settler  may 
liavc!  oceui»ied  his  farm  for  years,  it  may  bo  two  or  it  may 
bo  ton,  before  tho  survey  comes  up  to  him,  and  he  can 
tlusrefore  well  aflbrd  to  pay  the  very  mrxlerato  price  which 
tlie  Government  charo-es  for  wlml  is  then  carofujly  and  ac- 
curately defin(.'d,   and   for   which   his   title   is   made   ^rood 
a«-ainst  tho  world.     Under  tho  Homestead  ~.aw  the  Ihnit 
of  the  farms  Mhirh  each  individual  can  obtain  is  100  acres; 
but  under  the  Pre-emption  Law  it  appears  the  settler  may 
purchase   any  quantity  in    proportion   to    the    number  of 
acres  cleared  at  the  time  of  the  survey. 

The  amazino-  vastn(>ss  of  the  land  or  territory  of  tho 
United  States  may  l^o  indicated  by  a  single  fact  in  refer- 
ence to  her  mines,  which,  in  addition  to  her  aoricultural 
resources,  offer  an  immense  field  for  human  labour.  Her 
coal  latKh  done  coccr  an  area  of  two  hundred  (hou^and 
.square  miloi;  wliile  the  combined  coal  fields  of  Europe; 
cover  but  10,000  square  miles— that  is,  the  coal  fields 
of  the  United  States  are  more  than  twelve  times  more 
extensive  in  area  than  all  the  coal  fields  of  Europe! 
Iron,  that  nu3tal  more  really  ]  recious  than  gold,  is  found 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  coal.  With  respect  to  this  valu- 
able mineral,  America  maintains  her  supremacy  of  vast- 
ness  ;  and  any  one  who  travels  some  hundred  miles  from 
the  splendid  city  of  St.  Louis  may  behold  a  huge  mountain 
of  solid  iron,  rising  many  hundred  feet  above  the  phiin, 
and  presenting  a  striking  feature  in  the  landscape. 

T^IZ^^^^l^^:^^"-''  *"  ^''="'''  «^'"^^t<^^'^«  to  a<.t„al  SctHcrB  on  the  Public. 


I     ^J- 


■J 


3 


J 


262 


THE  miSU  JN  AMERICA. 


It  is  not  at  all  iiocoHsaiy  that  an  Iiinh  immigrant  bIiouU 
y;o  West,  wliatciver  unci  !jo\v  <^vv.d  tin;  iiuluccmciitH  it  olVera 
to  the  ontorpri.sin;^'.  TImto  is  land  to  bo  had,  under  certain 
circum.stanccs  and  conditions,  in  almost  every  State  in  tho 
Union.  And  there  is  no  State  in  which  the  Iri.sh  peasant 
who  is  livin{^'  from  hand  to  mouth  in  one  of  tho  great  cities 
as  a  day-labourer,  may  not  improve  his  condition  by  be- 
taking himself  to  his  natural  and  legitimate  avocation — ■ 
tho  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Nor  is  tho  vast  region  of  tho 
South  unfavourable  to  the  laborious  Jind  energetic  Irish- 
man. On  the  contrary,  there  is  no  portion  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent  in  which  ho  would  receive  a  more  cordial 
welcome,  or  meet  with  more  favourable  terms.  This  would 
not  have  been  so  before  the  war,  or  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
and  tho  upset  of  the  land  syrtem  which  was  based  upon 
the  compulsoiy  labour  of  the  negro.  Bc.''oro  the  war,  the 
land  was  held  in  nniss  by  large  proprietors,  and,  whatever 
its  quantity,  theri;  was  no  dividing  or  selling  it — that  is 
willingly ;  for  when  land  was  brought  to  the  hammer, 
the  convenience  of  the  i)urchaser  had  to  bo  (!onsulted. 
But  there  was  no  voluntary  division  of  tho  soil,  no  cutting 
it  up  into  jDarcols,  to  bo  occupied  by  small  proprietors. 
Now,  the  state  of  things  is  totally  dift'eront.  Too  much 
land  in  the  hands  of  one  individual  may  now  be  as  em- 
barrassing in  the  South  as  in  the  North,  especially  when 
it  is  liable  to  taxation.  The  policy  of  the  South  is  to 
increase  and  strengthen  tho  white  population,  so  as  not  to 
be,  as  the  South  yet  is,  too  much  dej)endeni  on  the  negro ; 
and  the  planter  who,  ten  years  ago,  would  not  sever  a  single 
acre  from  his  estate  of  2,000,  or  10,000,  or  20,000  acres, 
will  now  readily  divide,  if  not  all,  at  least  a  considerable 
portion  of  it,  into  saleable  quantities,  to  suit  the  conve- 
nience of  purchasers.  He  will  do  more  than  divide  ;  ho 
will  sell  on  fair  terms,  and  he  will  afford  a  fair  time  to  pay 
—he  will,  in  fact,  do  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth 
of  the  white  population,  while  yielding  to  the  necessity  of 


DOWN  SOUTH. 


ant  Bhould 
its  it  ort'crji 
lor  certain 
tato  in  tho 
ill  peasant 
,a-eat  cities 
on  by  be- 
vocation — ■ 
^ion  of  tho 
luetic  Irish- 
thc  Aniori- 
>ro  cordial 
Cliis  would 
of  slavery, 
used  upon 
e  war,  the 
,  whatever 
it — that  is 
hammer, 
consulted, 
no  cutting 
roprietors. 
loo  much 
be  as  em- 
ially  when 
lutli  is  to 
)  as  not  to 
he  negro ; 
or  a  single 
000  acres, 
nsiderable 
he  convo- 
livide  ;  ho 
inie  to  pay 
he  growth 
jcessitv  of 


the    times,    which   compels    him    („   part    wifl 


*25S 

,  ,,       ,  -  P'nt    with   whiit   h;ia 

become  rathor  bnrd(aisome  and  embarruHsing  to  hin.Hclf 

Ihis  iH  a  Hubjc-ct  on  which  I  could  not  venture  to  write 
^vlthout   the   fuUest   authority  ;    but   I   have   spoken    with 
Iiundreds  of  Southerners  of  rank  and  position,  men  identi- 
hcdwitli  the  South  l,y  the  strongest  ties  of  l,irth,  prop(.rty 
and  patriotism;  and  I  know,  from  unreserved  interchange 
of  opHHon  with  them,  that  the  general  feeling  of  the  en- 
lightened  and  tlie  politic  is  in  favour  of  inducing  European 
settlers  to  como  to  the  South,  and  come  on  easy  terms    «The 
experu.tice  of  the  past  year  (18CG),    said  a  well-inforniod 
Southern  gentleman  to  me,  'leads  most  of  our  people  to 
see    th.  Mute     ^^ecemt.,    of    dividing    and    mb-diciding 
the  large  plantation.:      I  heard   almost   the    san.e    words 
used  m  several  of  the  Southern  States,  as  weU  by  owners 
of  larg^e  estates  as  by  persons  extensively  engaged  in  the 
sale  and  management  of  property. 

There   is   a   prejudice,    and   a  somewhat   ignorant  pre- 
Jiidice,  against  the  South ;  the  prevalent  idea  being  that 
no  one  but  the  negro  can  venture  to  brave  its  chniate- 
that  open-air  labour  in  the  South  is  death  to  the  white 
man     I  know  of  Irishmen  who  cultivate  farms  in  all  tho 
Southern  States,  and  who  work  at  them  themselves ;  and 
that  they  and  their  children  are  strong  and  robust      But 
not  only  are  some  of  the  Southern  States  temperate  and 
gemal,  but  m  almost  all  those  States  there  are  portions 
^^^nch   are  most  favourable  to  the  industry  and  longevity 
o±  the  white  man.     I   was  anxious   to  obtain  rehable  in- 
forniation  on  this  point,  and  I  received  from  the  Bishop 
of   CharJeston-the  honoured  son  of  a  good  Irishman-a 
sta  ement  respecting  a,  State  that,  perhaps  of  all  others 
IS  the  one  to  which  prejudice  would  first  point  as  the  most 
unsuitod   o  the  labour  of  the  European.     South  Carohna, 
W^e  aU   the  Southern  States,  has  its  belts,  of  soil  as  well 
a«  chmate,  favourable  and  unfavourable  to  the  Eur(.,K^an 


^*3,1 


1 


1 
,1 


.1 
3 

-I 


nnmigrant 


Dx.  Lynch  says  of  his  State,  that  it  is  'pro^ 


254 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


bably  the  most  Irish  of  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union.' 
'Irish  family  names  abound  in  every  rank  and  condition 
of  hfe ;  and  there  are  few  men,  natives  of  the  State,  in 
whose  veins  there  does  not  run  more  or  less  of  Irish  blood.' 
He  adds,  'While  its  inhabitants  have  always  had  the 
impetuous  character  of  the  Irish  race,  nowhere  has  there 
been  a  more  earnest  sympathy  for  the  straggles  of  Irish- 
men at  home,  nowhere  will  the  Irish  immigrant  be 
received  with  greater  welcome,  or  be  more  generously 
supported  in  all  his  rights ;  and  I  do  not  know  any  part 
of  the  country  where  industry  and  sobriety  would  ensure 
to  the  immigiLant  ^vho  engages  in  agriculture  an  ampler 
compensation  for  hiniscK  and  family  in  a  briefer  number 
of  years.'  In  his  communication,  written  in  compliance 
with  my  request,  the  Bishop  points  out  the  healthy  and 
the  unhealthy,  the  favourable  and  the  unfavourable,  belts 
or  districts  of  his  State.* 

In  reference  to  the  Southern  States  I  had  the  o}-)inion 
of  an  eminent  Irishman,  one  who  laid  down  the  highest 
dignity  in  tlie  church  for  an  humble  position,  in  which  he 
is  honoured  and  beloved.  His  knowledge  of  the  country 
is  intimate  and  extensive,  and  his  experience  goes  back 
more  than  thirty  years.  I  was  anxious  to  have  his  opinion 
as  to  the  suitability  of  the  South  for  the  Irish  emigrant, 
as  I  knew  he  had  recently  been  in  most  of  its  States; 
and  it  is  thus  given  : — 

'  During  my  late  trip  to  the  South  I  made  various  en- 
quiries regarding  the  prospects  there  for  Irish  emigrants 
The  result  of  these  enquiries  was,  that  a  great' field  was 
open  for  them ;  but  I  feel  convinced  that  it  could  scarcely 
be  made  useful  for  them  in  a  temporal  or  spiritual  point 
of  view  without  more  combination  and  organised  efforts 
than  I  think  it  at  all  likely,  at  least  at  present,  to  bo 
obtained  amongst  our  people,  or  any  parties  that  could  be 
induced   to   act    for    them   or   to   direct   them.      If    such 

*  For  the  Bishoii's  letter,  see  Appendix. 


%-:i''   *     r»    i»'%'>'3   *'^' 


•    -<v 


he  Union.' 
.  condition 
!  State,  in 
•isli  blood.' 
s  had  the 
has  there 
s  of  Iriah- 
igrant  be 
^•eneron.slv 
■  any  part 
lid  ensure 
in  ampler 
!r  number 
;ompliance 
salthy  and 
able,  belts 

le  opinion 
le  Ligiiest 
1  wliicli  be 
le  country 
goes  back 
lis  opinion 
emigrant, 
ts   States ; 

arious  en- 
smigrants 
'field  was 
d  scarcely 
tual  point 
ed  efforts 
!nt,  to  bo 
.  could  bo 
If    such 


A  KILDARE  MAN  IN  THE  SOUTH.  255 

organisation  could  be  effected,  I  believe  the  South  would 
ofler  a  better  field  for  emigration  than  any  other  part  of 
the  country.' 

Bishop  Lynch  insists  on  '  industry  and  sobriety '  as  the 
grand  essentials  to  the  Irishman's  success  in  the   South  • 
and  when  I  was  in  Charleston  he  afforded  me  the  oppor- 
tunity of  witnessing,  in  the  person  of  a  countryman  from 
the  county  Kildare,  as  good  an  illustration  as  I  could  desire 
to  behold  of  the  happy  exercise  of  these  noble  quahties 
Some  three  or  four  miles  outside  i\^  city  we  arrived  at  a 
snug  prosperous-looking  place,  a  good  house  surrounded  by 
a  farm  of  rich  land,  in  which  acres  of  vegetables  and  green 
crops  of  various  kinds  were  then  in  luxuriant  growth,  beincr 
cultivated  in  a  manner  that  would  satisfy  even  a  London 
market  gardener.     Twenty-three  years  ago  the  owner  of 
this  valuable  property— worth  more  than  $20,000— arrived 
m  America,  with  little  money  in  his  pocket,  but  with  some 
knowledge  of  farming,  and  a  speciality  for  the  cultivation 
of  vegetables.      He  remained    '  knocking   about '  the  nor- 
thern cities  for  six   months,  Hvhig  from    hand  to  mouth, 
taking  such  day  work  as  he  could  obtain.     '  This  won't  do  ' 
said  the  boy  from  Kildare  to  himself ;  '  it's  all  well  for  the 
aay,  but  there's  nothing  for  the  morrow  or  the  next  day  ; 
I  must  try  and  get  something  to  make  me  independent.' 
So  m  pursuit  of  independence  he  came  down  South,  whe-e 
ho  entered   the   employment   of  a   gentlemen    of  famous 
name    m   America,    but   whose  parents   were    both    'full- 
blooded    Irish,'   and    whose    approbation    the    boy    from 
Kildare    won   by   the   success   with   which    he    cultivated 
vegetables  and  green  crops.     Had  there  been  a  priest  or 
a  church  within    covenieno-  distance,  the   young  Irishman 
would  have  willingly  remained  in  his   good  cmplovmcnt 
eoutmuing  t.)  lay  aside  the  greater  portion  of  his  wao-es  • 
but  as  many  as  eight  months  would  pass  before  he  could 
gratify  the  pious  longing  of  his  CathoHc  heart ;  and  so,  at 
length,  and  much   against  his  will,  he  oiiitted   tlm  o-veat 


1 


i 

■■m 


.'it 


256 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


man's  Rorvice.  With  hh  earnings  lie  came  to  Charleston-^ 
not  into  the  city,  unless  to  say  his  prayers  and  make  neces- 
sary  purchases  or  sales— antl  set  to  work,  like  a  sensible 
Irishman,  at  the  business  he  best  knew.  But  without 
entering  into  the  details  of  years  of  honest  and  sober 
industry,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  his  fine  farm  is  his  own 
prop(>rty,  and  that  he  has  given  to  his  children  a  hberal 
education.  Kindly,  good-natured,  active  and  full  of  health, 
this  man,  though  now  of  middle  age,  is  as  simple  in 
manner— as  natural  and  as  Iriuh— as  he  was  the  day  he 
saw  the  last  of  '  Kildav- -:  -oly  shrine.'  Possibly  I  am 
somewhat  prejudiced  in  his  favour  ;  for  a  more  pleasant 
cup  of  tea  I  never  drank  in  America  than  that  which  I 
received  from  the  hands  of  his  wife— the  more  pleasant 
because  of  a  previous  and  somewhat  extended  exploration 
round  and  through  the  famous  city  of  Charleston.  A  sober 
man,  he  was  '  not  a  bit  the  worse  of  the  chmate  ; '  and  his 
looks  fully  justified  his  words.  This  man's  capital  was 
industry,  intelligence,  and  good  conduct ;  and  in  America, 
perhaps  more  surely  than  in  any  country  under  the  sun, 
this  kind  of  capital  is  sure  to  create  the  other  capital— the 
dollar  and  the  dollar's  worth. 

When  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  I  feU  in  with  perhaps  one 
of  the  best  persons  to  offer  a  practical  opinion  as  to  the 
suitability  of  the  South  for  the  settlement  of  the  Irish. 
Names  are  not  necessary  to  be  mentioned  in  most  instances, 
but  in  this  instance  the  name  of  my  authority  for  the 
foUowing  statement  may  be  given.  Mr.  H.  C.  Bryson, 
from  the  north  of  Ireland,  has  been  engaged  for  forty  years 
in  the  cotton  trade  ;  and  he  holds  that  the  temperate  por- 
tions of  Alabama,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Mississippi, 
are-weU  suited  to  the  settlement  and  healthful  labour  of 
the  Irish.  He  mentioned  many  cases  in  point,  where  the 
Irish  had  settled,  gone  on  prosperously,  and  maintained 
the  most  robust  health.  One  iUustration,  and  that  a  very 
striking  and  comprehensive  one,  will  however  sufiice.     lu 


.  iK,t^-,>3>D^->  . 


TIPPERARY  MEN  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


257 


liarleston — 
nake  iieces- 
)  a  seiisiblo 
iut  witliout 
and   sober 

I  is  his  own 
m  a  liberal 

II  of  health, 
simple   in 

the  day  he 
isibly  I  am 
re  pleasant 
at  which  I 
i"e  pleasant 
exj^loration 
1.  A  sober 
3 ; '  and  his 
!ai)ital  was 
in  America, 
3r  the  sun, 
apital — the 

erliaps  one 
1  as  to  the 

the  Irish, 
t  instances, 
ity  for  the 
C.  Bryson, 
forty  years 
Derate  por- 
Vlississippi, 

labour  of 

where  the 

maintained 

that  a  very 

jufliee.     In 


the    year    1850,    aboiit  fifty   Irish    families,    .all   from   the 
county  Tipperary,— Burkes,   Keihno-s,   Keatin^^s,  Hyneses, 
Hartys,    Mahers,    &c.,— made    their   way   down    from   the 
North,  and   settled  in   Talliafero   county,  Georgia.     They 
were   hard-working-,   sober  people,  but   amongst  them  all 
they  did  not  possess  a  hundred  dollars.     One  of  the  men 
had  to  bring  one  of  his  children  on  his  back,  while  the 
other  little  ones  trotted  alongside  him.     In  a  very  short 
time  after,  these  hard-working,  sober  people,  who  would  not 
'  hang  about  the  cities,'  were  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
entirely  the    result    of    their    labour   and  industry— that 
capital   wliich    money    cannot    always    purchase.       These 
Irishmen  in  the  South  raise  corn,  cotton,  and  stoc:      and 
in  all  they  do,  they  are  more  careful  and  particular  than 
man.y.of  the  people  around  them.     Mr.  Bryson  has  often 
sold  from  five  to  ten  bales  of  cotton  for  each  of  them,  at 
$125    the    bale.       'They   are   more   particular,'   says   Mr. 
Bryson,  'and  take  more  pains  with  their  corn  and  their 
cotton,  than  most  of  their  neighbours.     They  are  all  strong 
and  hearty  ;  in  fact,  I  never  heard  of  one  of  them  being 
ill— and  I  know  every  man   of  them   well.      But   this  I 
attribute  rather  to  their  frugal  hfe  and  temperate  liabits 
than  to  any  other  cause.     They  have  a  fine  school  of  their 
own,  and  can  go  to  their  chrirch  as  weU  as  the  best  people 
in  the  country  ;    they  have   good   houses,    abundance   of 
everytliing  they  can  desire — and  I  assure  you  they  could 
entertain  you  as  well  as  any  men  in  the  State.     They  are 
a  credit  to  any  country.     Bat  the  Irishman,  when  he  comes 
out  hero,  is  among  the  most  industrious  of  all.' 

'I  think,'  adds  Mr.  Bryson,  'that  the  cotton  raised  by 
men  of  this  class — men  who  work  at  it  themselves,  and 
who  have  an  interest  in  what  they  are  doing — is  the  finest 
grown  of  any.  It  is  better  handled,  and  more  carefully 
picked.  None  of  these  men  owned  a  slave,  and  so  much 
the  better  for  them  ;  for  they  have  lost  nothing  by  tiie 
change,  while  others  lost  the  greater  part  of  their  capital. 


1 


1 


258 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


I  spoke  L'f  tliG  liealtli  enjoyed  by  the  Irish  >vho  are  farm* 
ing.  In  Locust  Grove  there  are  a  good  many  of  them, 
and  for  tlie  last  ten  years  I  don't  know  of  an  adult  among 
them  dying,  save  one — for  I  don't  count  a  poor  fellow  who 
came  home  from  the  Army  in  Virginia  to  die;  and  that 
one  ^hat  I  do  count  was  Murdoch  Griffin,  but  he  Avas 
sixty-eight  years  old  when  he  died,  and  he  had  hard  work 
in  his  day.  Griffin  started  about  thirty-five  years  since, 
without  a  dollar  in  his  pocket ;  and  when  he  died  his 
property  was  worth  $70,000  in  gold.  Any  Irishman  that 
goes  into  the  country  with  his  family  can  do  well,  and 
make  a  fortune.' 

This  was  the  testimony  of  a  shrewd  observant  Northern 
Irishman, — as  good  an  authority  on  the  subject  of  which 
he  spoke  as  could  be  found  in  the  v/hole  of  the  United 
States. 

And  in  the  city  of  Augusta,  in  which  there  are  several 
Irish  doing  a  good  business,  and  holding  a  good  position, 
there  is  an  Irish  settlement,  known  by  the  name  of  DubHn ; 
which  is  occupied  by  a  hard-working,  industrious,  thrifty, 
and  sober  population,  to  whom  the  houses  and  the  land  on 
which  they  stand  belong. 

An  able  and  experienced  Irishman — himself  one  of  the 
most  successful  citizens  of  Memphis,  Tennessee— remarked 
to  me  one  day:  'The  trouble  is,  that  the  Irish  don't  go 
on  the  land  as  much  as  they  ought.  I  never  knew  an 
Irishman  that  pulled  up  pegs,  and  went  on  the  land,  that 
did  not  do  well.  AU  have  done  well  that  went  into  the 
country.  It  is  now  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  get 
land,  and  good  land  too,  at  fair  terms.  Take  an  examjile 
in  a  man  from  your  own  part  of  Ireland,  to  show  you  how 
an  Irishman  may  purchase  a  good  property  here.  A  man 
from  Cork,  a  mere  labourer,  .went  out  to  Brownsville, 
dit(;hing— in  other  words,  fencing,  to  keep  in  cattle.  That 
was  in  18G2.  I  know  that  man  to  have  $3,300  in  bank, 
and  $1,500  besides ;  that  is,  nearly  $5,000  in  all.     He  has 


THE  CLIMATE  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


259 


are  farm* 
'  of  tliem, 
lilt  among 
'ellow  "who 

and  that 
it  he  -was 
liard  work 
!ar8  since, 

died  his 
iman  that 
well,  and 

Northern 

of  which 

le  United 

fe  several 
position, 
f  Dublin ; 
s,  thrifty, 
e  land  on 

le  of  the 
remarked 
don't  go 
knew  an 
land,  that 

into  the 
Id  to  get 

examjilo 
you  liov/ 

A  man 
jwnsville, 
le.  That 
in  bank. 

He  has 


not  yet  invested  in  land,  but  he  intends  doing  so.     He  is 
■  looking  about  him,  and  he  will  be  sure  to  pick  up  a  splen- 
did tlmig  for  the  money.     This  Cork  man   of  yourg  now 
liircs  a  couple  of  negroes,  and  does  work  by  contract.' 

'But  the  climate?'  I  enquired. 

' Climate !— all  nonsense  about  the  climate.  Climate! 
Why,  you  have  more  sunstrokes  in  one  month  in  New  ^^ork 
than  there  are  for  a  whole  year  in  the  entire  of  the  h.outh. 
If  a  man  drinks,  the  climate  will  tell  on  him— may  kill 
him ;  but  if  he  is  a  sober  man,  there  is  no  fear  of  him. 
That  is  my  experience ;  and  I  have  a  pretty  loiig  one,  I 
can  tell  you.  The  land,  sir,  is  the  thing— the  country  the 
place  for  our  people.  The  land  Avill  give  a  man  everything 
but  coffee,  tea  or  sugar  ;  these  he  can  buy,  and  live  lil-e 
a  king.  I  know  an  Irishman,  who  was  a  porter  in  a  hotel, 
at  $25  a  month.  He  went  five  miles  out  of  the  city,  and 
leased  forty  acres,  took  a  dairy,  bought  cows,  and  brought 
his  milk  into  the  city.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  eighty 
acres  of  valuable  land,  with  a  fine  house,  and  every  comfort 
for  himself  and  his  family.  The  land,  sir '  the  land,  sir  I 
is  the  place  for  our  people  ;  tell  them  so.' 

I  do  not  venture  to  suggest  to  the  Irishman  i..  i  -  lerica, 
or  the  Irishman  who  intends  to  emigrate  to  America,  to 
what  State  of  the  Union  he  should  go  in  search  of  a  home. 
All  I  say  is  this :  if  he  is  a  farmer,  a  farm-labourer,  a  pea- 
mnt~that  is,  a  man  horn  and  ^-^^'xl  in  the  country— let  him 
go  anywhere,  so  that  he  goes  out  of  the  city.  Turn  where 
he  may,  he  is  always  sure  to  find  a  market  for  his  labour ; 
ard  having  obtained  the  employment  best  suited  to  his 
knowledge  and  capacity,  he  can  put  by  his  dollars,  and 
l<3ok  around  him  to  see  if  anyt)  ii:  ,  m  the  neighbourhood 
would  suit  him,  or  is  within  hi?:  ru  jh ;  or  if  there  be  no 
fair  opening  for  him,  no  prospect  of  making  a  homo  there, 
then  he  has  only  to  push  o'l  farther,  and  he  will  bo  certain' 
to  find  the  land  and  the  home  to  his  liking.     With  money 


*i- 


1 
1 

4 

4 


260 


THE  IR[SIl  IN  AMERICA. 


in  his  poolcot  mid  sir('n<*'th  in  his  arms,  and  a  dot(!rmination 
to  omploy  boili  to  tho  best  advantage,  suroly  tlioro  is  little 
fear  of  tius  Irislinian  who  desires  to  make  a  home  for  him- 
self in  the  New  AV^oiid. 

In  a  word,  the  peasant — the  man  of  the  spade,  the 
pl(>ii^-l>,  and  the  harrow — for  the  (iountry,  tlu^  land,  the 
soil.  So  the  artizan,  the  mechanic,  the  handycraftsman, 
for  the  city,  the  workshop,  the  factory — for  the  place  and 
occnpation  whi(!li  are  bcsst  suited  to  his  skill,  his  capacity, 
and  his  traininjjf.  One  would  not,  at  least  onght  not,  re- 
commend a  watchmaker,  or  an  engineer,  or  a  gas-titter,  or  a 
house-painter,  or  a  l)oiler-maker,  to  go  into  tho  forest  and 
hew  down  trees,  or  to  the  prairie  and  turn  it  up  with  a 
I)lough  and  a  team  of  oxen.  The  city  is  their  right  place. 
But,  even  Avitli  the  mechanic,  discrimination  is  necessary. 
Young  and  rising  (dties  may  oiWr  l)etter  oi)portunities  to 
the  skilknl  workman  tlian  old  cities,  in  wliich  the  compe- 
tition is  lierc'e,  tlui  special  trade  may  be  overdone,  and 
the  cost  of  living  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  payment, 
however  liberal  that  may  be.  In  ntnv  places  the  prudent 
man  may  secure  his  lot,  or  his  two  lots,  even  a  block,  on 
reasonable  terms ;  and  as  time  goes  on — a  short  time  in 
the  States — the  town  extends,  the  population  increases, 
and  property  rises  in  vahie ;  and  thus,  with  comparatively 
little  t)utlay,  a  prudent  man  may  become  rich,  with  small 
trouble  and  no  risk.  Then,  in  rising  places,  the  demand 
for  certain  classes  of  skilled  labour  is  greater,  and  its  rc- 
nnmeration  larger,  than  in  places  alr<^ady  built  and  long 
settled.  The  prudent  artizan  may  thus  have  two  strings 
to  his  bow,  and  both  of  them  serviceable  :  ho  may  work 
at  greater  tidvantage,  and  speculate  with  greater  cer- 
tainty of  proiit.  There  are  in  America  thousands  of  Irish- 
men— not  a  few  of  them  'millionaires' — who,  prudent 
and  fiu'-seeing,  have  risen  with  the  fortunes  of  new  places', 
in  which  they  secured  a  large  interest  by  timely  and 
judicious   investment.     I  have  met  with   several  of  these 


■min.ition 

e  is  little 

for  him- 

r.ido,  tho 
l;uul,  tho 
niftsman, 
iliico  unci 
Ciipacity, 
b  not,  ro- 
ttor,  or  a 
>ro.st  and 
[)  with  a 
flit  place, 
ccossary. 
initios  to 
3  conipo- 
onc,  and 
payment, 
prndont 
block,  on 
i  tinio  in 
n  creases, 
aratively 
th  small 
demand 
d  its  re- 
md  long 
J  strings 
lay  work 
iter  cer- 
of  Irish- 
prudent 
IV  places, 
lely  and 
of  thesQ 


CALIFORNIA  AN  ILLUSTRATION  OF  TIIK  TRUE  POLICY.  261 

men,  and  I  heard  from  their  own  lips  the  story  of  their 
good  fortune. 

Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  I  do  not  know  of 
iiny  of  the  States  which  affords  a  more  favourable  illus- 
tration of  tho  poHcy  T  d(,sire  to  urge  on  my  countrymen, 
than  Cahfornia  ;  where  the  Irish,  besides  being  engaood 
m  many  proiitable  pursuits,  aro  also  found  Lirgolv  dis- 
tributed over  the  land,  and  where  tho  knowledge  "of 'farm- 
ing which  thoy  brought  with  thom  from  the  old  country 
has  been  turned  by  them  to  the  best  account. 

I  shall  tlieroforo  glance  at  that  magnifi(;ent  State  to 
ascertain  in  what  position  the  Irish  are  there  to  be  found. 


^ 


pi 


3 


2G2 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


I 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Ciilifornia  of  tin?  Past  and  Present— Early  Trisli  Settlors— Death 
ainid  the  Moimtains— Pat  Clark.  Put  One  Mormon— Tiie  Irish 
wisely  settl((  on  the  Land— How  they  Succeeded  in  the  Cities— 
Successrul  Thrift.  Irish  Girls— The  Church  in  San  Francisco— 
What  a  poor  Irishman  can  do. 

THERE  is  not  a  State  in  the  Union  in  which  the 
Irisli  liave  taken  aeei)er  and  stronger  root,  or  thriven 
more  snccessfuUy,  than  Cahfornia,  in  whose  amazing  pro- 
gress—material, social,  and  intellectual— they  have  had 
a  conspicuous  share.  For  nearly  twenty  years  past  this 
region  has  been  associated  in  the  popular  mind  with 
visions  of  bo-mdJess  wealth  and  marvellous  fortunes  ;  and 
it  may  be  interesting  to  learn  under  what  circumstances 
the  Irish  became  connected  with  a  country  of  such  uni- 
versal repute,  and  of  whose  population  they  form  a  most 
imj^ortant  and  valuable  portion. 

Long  before  the  discovery  of  the  precious  metal  at- 
tracted the  adventurous  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  to 
the  golden  shores  of  the  Pacific,  Irishmen  had  made  their 
home  in  Cahfornia,  where  they  had  been  hospitably  re- 
ceived by  the  kindly  Spanish  race,  with  whom  they  freely 
intermixed,  and  amongst  whom  they  were  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  abundant  means,  won  by  honest  industry,  or  the 
result  of  no  less  honourable  public  service.  And  how 
different  the  California  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  since 
from  the  California  of  the  present  day !  It  retains  but  a 
faint  resemblance  to  what  it  was  when  the  sole  occupants 
and  lords  of  the  soil  were  the  good  missionary  priests,  the 
ranclieros,  and  the  Indians.      Then   the   peaceful  dweller 


CALIFORNIA  OF  THE  PAST  AND  Pll ESKNT.  203 


—Death 
lie  Irish 
Cities— 
ncisco^ 


wliicli  the 
or  tlinven 
xzin^  pro- 
liave  had 
past  this 
aiiicl  with 
iiies  ;  and 
iimstances 
such  uni- 
m  a  most 

metal  at- 
e  globe  to 
iiade  their 
itably  re- 
iiey  freely 
he  enjoy- 
■y,  or  the 
And  how 
ury  since 
ins  but  a 
3ccupants 
liests,  the 
il  dweller 


amidst  the  beautiful  solitude,  beheld  nature   in  its    most 
lovely  and  attractive  form  ;    a  wide  expanse  of  undulatiiio- 
l)lain    and    charminnr    valley,  rich    and    well   watered,  un- 
fenced  and  untilled  ;  o-roves  and  noble  forests  of  oak,  pine, 
(^edar,    and   other   trees   of    majestic    size,    some   growing,' 
Min^-ly  or  in  groups,  as  if  planted  by  the  hand  of    taste" 
large  and  numerous  herds  of  horses  and    cattle    roaming 
over  the  luxuriant  pastures,  the  only  living  objects  giving 
evidence  of  the  presence  or  proximity  of  man.     Bu.  a  few 
years  have  passed  since  then,  and  what   a  cliange  !     The 
landscape  che(iuered  with  smihng  farms,  homesteads,  Mid 
villas — dotted    over    with    towns    and    villages— life    and 
movement  everywhere — evidences    of  the   energy  and    in- 
dustry  of   man    in    all    directions.     Where    there  stood  a 
few  huts  on  the  sea-shore,  there  is  now  a  great  city,  with 
bustling  wharves   and    crowded    thoroughfares   and   busy 
population— a  majestic  cathedral,   and  the  rival  churches 
of  almost  every  diversity  of  religious  belief.     The  rancheros 
and  the  Indians  have  passed  away,  never  to  return  ;    but 
tiie  Cross  is  still  there,  thanks,  in  a  great  measure,  to  those 
islanders  who  have  been  so  wonderfully  selected  by  Pro- 
vidence as  the  most  successful  missionaries  of   the    Faith 
in  this  century,  as  in  others  now  remote. 

Among  the  few,  not  of  Spanish  origin,  who  settled  in 
California  prior  to  1848,  were  many  Irish,  of  every  class, 
who  proved,  by  their  presence  in  a  distant  and  then  ahnost 
unknown  country,  to  the  possession  of  those  quahties  so 
essential  in  the  pioneer  of  civihsation— courage,  enter- 
prise, and  love  of  adventure.  The  first  sojourners  were 
the  mountain  trappers,  whose  knowledge  and  education 
extended  little  beyond  the  woodcraft  so  necessary  to  suc- 
cess in  their  perilous  occupation.  The  trapper's  chief 
thought  was  of  the  trail  and  the  Indian  ambush  ;  his  con- 
stant study,  the  habits  and  the  haunts  of  game;  his 
wealth  and  his  defence,  a  rifle  and  a  horse.  This  was  a 
Wild   and    dangerous,  occasionally  a  remunerative  calling 


■  4 
i 

J! 

.1 


j» 


2G4 


Till-:  IRISH  IN  AMERirA. 


^vlli('ll  loo  ofli  II  ((!niiiiiiii(Hl  in  liis  l){'in<jf  n  vi(!tim  to  tho 
l>ull(>t  or  llic  Iviiil'i^  of  tlio  ircaclici'ouH  Hiiva^o,  wlio  iidonustl 
liis  wi;^wiini  with  tlui  Hr.n\\)  of  lli(^  \vliii<(  iiivadtii*  of  his 
Imntiii';-  {^toiukIh.  Tu  oik;  ol'  Huh  cIuhs,  an  IriMluiian, 
Captain  J.  S.  Siniili,  i.s  duo  ilid  credit  of  liavin<.(  led  (lie 
lirnt  i>arly  of  wliiio  men  over  land  to  C.ilifornia.  At  the 
head  of  a  hand  of  some  forty  traiiju'rH,  in  the  sorvice  of  tho 
Ameriean  Fur  Company,  ho  had  tlie  conraf^'e  to  oiosh  the 
lofty  lidgcH  and  formiihibk!  l)arn(>rs  of  the  SHUTa  ISevada. 
Smith,  \vho  was  a  native  of  the  Kind's  coiinty,  emigrated 
a^an  early  a|;o  to  tho  United  States,  joined  tlu;  Fuv  Com- 
pany, and  ultimalely  beeanio  chief  trader  at  tlioir  post  on 
Green  Kiver.  In  oiio  of  his  excursions,  exph)rin^-  ilie 
county  south  and  west  of  Salt  Lake,  ho  crossed  over  to 
(-alifornia,  visitcnl  San  ])i<^^^o  and  San  Jose,  Avliero  ho 
encamped  with  his  ])art.y  for  sonu^  time.  There  is  a  lett(!r 
of  his  extant,  writliMi  in  IMay,  18'J7,  to  Padre  Zuran,  tho 
missionary  priest  of  San  Jose,  in  which  ho  ^ivos  an  ac- 
count of  himself,  and  his  reasons  for  romainin<jf  s«)  lony"  in 
iho  vicinity.  On  his  return  trij)  ho  and  most  of  his  party 
were  slain  by  tho  Indians  east  of  tho  Si(vrra.  But  I'ow 
oscapi'd — four  or  live  at  most ;  and  anuuig  tluun  was  au 
Irislnnan  who,  from  his  j>reat  stature,  was  kuovvii  as  Big 
Fallen.     He  rcMuained  in  the  country. 

Between  tho  years  1825  and  IH-UI,  some  few  Irishmen 
arrived  by  sea,  ami  settled  in  California.  Those  wcro 
princii>ally  masters  or  other  otlicers  of  American  trading 
vessels,  or  seamen  before  the  mast,  with  an  occasional  a<l- 
ve^ituror  in  search  of  a  liomo ;  jind  being  wise  enough  to 
ai)prociate  the  advantages  oflbrod  by  a  lovely  country  and 
a  line  climate,  and  liking  the  character  of  the  inhabitants, 
they  resolved  to  abandon  the  deep  and  its  dangers,  and 
cast  anchor  for  life  on  shore.  Generally  settling  in  the  dif- 
ferent sea-ports,  they  soon,  owing  to  their  knowledge  and 
industry,  became  independent;  and  having  married  and 
become  naturalised,  they  w'ere  recognised  and  treated  by 


rii    to    tho 

I)  .'ulonuul 

lU"     of     Ills 

IrislmiiHi, 

"   l(!(l    IIm! 

.     At  tli(. 

^'u'o  of  tho 

eroHH  the 

I'Uli^n'lltiHl 

l^'iir  Coiu- 
ir  \H)s\  on 
)iiii<^    tlio 

I  oY(>r  to 
\vhero  ho 
H  a  lottor 
urau,  tlio 
OS  an  ao- 
o  lon}^'  in 
liis  party 

]iiit  few 
u  was  an 

II  as  Biy; 

Irislimcn 
oso  were 
II  trading 
■jioiial  acl- 
nionjjfli  to 
iintiy  and 
habitants, 
gers,  and 
n  the  dif- 
ledo'e  and 
fried  and 
reated  by 


2r.6 


oanio 


EAUI/    I  If  IS!  r  StJTTbERS. 

tho  kindly  and  hos'pitabjr  poophs  amongst  whom  tho>' 
m  bohjiiging  to  1  horn  (-Ives.     Thoir  similmity  of  rohgion 
was  greatly  in  thci'    favour  with  tho  Sp.uiiurds  ;  and 'this 
iniportunt    advaiitu-.      vas    in    no    sniidl   dogroo  enhanced 
b,y   the  (!ase  and   (puokness  with  wlii<li  i  hoy  u('«(iiired  tho 
language    of    th<>    country,   as   well    ii       y   their    natural 
]»olit(!noHs   and    tln-ir   dcforenee   to   tho    fairer   i)orli()n    of 
tho  cr(!ation,  traits    for  which   tho  Irish  are  ut  all  tiiaos 
Jionourably   distinguished.      '1      si*    qualiti(!s    and   aceoni- 
plishmonts   rt'iKh'i'od  them    great    favourites  with  the  do- 
sc(!iuh'u.ls   of   Iho   (^-istiHan  hidalgo,   and    facilitated   their 
worldly  success.     INIany  of  (hose  early  sctth-rs  w(n-o   men 
of  fair  edu(  ition  and  good  manners,  and   '-amo  principally 
from   the  Southcu'ii    provinces  of  Irelan<l.       Among  tluim 
were  to  bo  found  Heads  and  l)(!ns  of  Waterford,  Aliens  of 
Dublin,    iMurphys   of   Wc^xford,    Jhirkes  of  (Jalway,    Cop- 
pingers   of    Cork,    and   others.      Some    hecanio   extensive 
proprietors  of  land  and  raisers  of  sto('k,  others  j)ractised 
as  i)hysieians,  while  njore  acquired  wealth  and  repute  as 
enterprising  merchants  ;    and  they  with  their  families,  that 
(piickly  sprung  up  around    tlnan-^vigorous  in  body  as  in 
intellect—formed    the  nucleus  of   that  Irish  and  Catholic 
elonuint  which  was  to  be  so  wonderfully  strengtluuied  by 
subsequent  and  ccnitinuous  emigration. 

I  might  hv.  in{;liiu(d  to  linger  over  the  history  and  for- 
tuiK's  of  Don  Timoteo  Murphy,  who,  arriving  in  182!)  from 
Peru,  where  lie  had  spent  two  years,  rose  to  an  eminent 
])()sition,  as  Administrattu-  of  the  Mission,  and  Alcalde  for 
the  district  of  San  ]{afael,  acquired  vast  testates,  and  was 
universally  est(>enied  and  honoured  (hiring  a  residence 
of  a  quarter  of  a  ctaitury  in  the  country.  He  is  thus 
,^poken  of  by  a  fellow-countryman  and  friend,  himself 
OLo  of  the  most  fortunate  and  respected  of  the  Irish 
settlors  in  Cahfornia  :  '  Murphy  was  a  splendid  specimofi 
of  p  man,  tall,  powerful,  and  well-l)uiU,  a  good  horseman 
and   keen    hunter.     He  imported  the  first  greyhounds  to 

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266 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


California,  and  kept  a  kennel  of  twenty  to  thirty  hounds  ; 
the  abundance  of  deer,  elk,  and  antelojie  afforded  material 
for  the  chase,  and  Murphy  gave  them  Uttle  rest.  He  was 
hospitable,  kind,  and  generous,  and  looked  up  to  as  a 
father  by  the  people  of  the  country.' 

About  the  year  1838,  the  trail  across  the  Sierras  to  CaH- 
fornia  began  to  be  travelled  more  frequently  by  hunters. 
In  two  years  after  a  small  party  of  emigrants  arrived  by 
that  route  ;  and  from  that  date  to  th^^  present  each  suc- 
ceeding year  has  brought  with  it  bands  of  hardy  and 
adventurous  men  and  women  to  develop  the  resources 
of  that  portion  of  the  American  continent.  In  the  ex- 
ploring expedition  of  John  C.  Fremont  many  Irishmen 
joined,  and  remained  afterwards  in  the  country. 

The  year  1844  witnessed  a  remarkable  arrival — that  of 
a  body  of  immigrants  from  Canada  and  Missouri,  mostly 
Irish,  including  a  single  family  numbering  no  less  than 
five-and-twenty  individuals.  This  party  formed  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  community,  consisting  of  respectable  and 
.  intelligent  men,  who,  from  their  previous  traning,  were  weU 
fitted  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  incidental  to  a  settlement 
in  a  new  country.  The  leader  of  this  party  was  Mr.  Martin 
Murphy,  a  native  of  Wexford,  who  brought  with  him 
his  family  of  sons,  daughters,  and  grand-children.  Mr. 
Murphy  had  originally  emigrated  to  Lower  Canada,  from 
which  he  passed  to  Missouri ;  but,  not  finding  that  the 
Missouri  of  that  day  reahsed  the  anticipations  which 
he  had  formed  of  it,  he  decided,  old  as  he  was — ^lie  was 
then  in  his  sixtieth  year — on  seeking  a  home  more  suited 
to  his  habits  and  feelings.  He  gathered  together  the 
different  branches  of  his  family,  and  joining  with  othet 
Irish  families  in  their  neighbourhood,  thus  formed  a 
numerous  party,  or  train,  to  cross  the  plains  to  California, 
whither  they  were  destined.  Martin  Murphy  must  have 
had  considerable  pluck,  fortitude,  and  confidence  in  him- 
self and  his   associates,   to   start   on    a  journey  of  2,500 


ty  hounds  ; 
?d  material 
t.  He  was 
p    to    as  a 

ras  to  Cali- 
oj  hunters, 
arrived  by 
i  each  suc- 
hardy  and 
resources 
In  the  ex- 
r  Irishmen 

al — that  of 
uri,  mostly 
less  than 
a  valuable 
ctable  and 
,  were  weU 
settlement 
^r.  Martin 
with  him 
Iren.  Mr. 
aada,  from 
^  that  the 
ons  which 
IS — ^lie  was 
lore  suited 
jether  the 
vith  othet 
formed  a 
Cahfornia, 
nust  have 
e  in  him- 
yof  2,500 


DEATH  AMID  THE  MOUNTAINS.  267 

miles  over  a    trackless    prairie,   inhabited  by  fierce   and 
hostile  Induans    bound  to  a  land  then  Btle  known,  and 
that  only  from  the  vague  accounts  afforded  by  trappers  and 
others,  who  from  time  to  time  returned  to  the  settlements 
m  Western  Missouri.     The  party,  however,  reached  their 
destination  m  safety,  having  met  with  no  casualty  beyond 
the  loss  of  their  waggons,  which  they  were  compeUed  to 
abandon  m  the  defiles  of  the  Sierras.     The  gaUant  leader 
with  his  unmarried  sons  and  daughters,   settled  in   the 
valley  of    San   Josd,    where    the    family  purchased  large 
tracts  of    land,   and  became   extensive  owners  of    stock 
countmg  the  one  by  the  league,   and  the   other  by  the 
Wiousand     It  is  a  little  more  than   a  year  since  Martin 
Murphy  died,  at  a  grand  old  age,  the  founder  of  a  pros- 
perous  race.  ^ 

That  Martin   Murphy's  venture  was  fuU  of  peril,  not- 
withstanding its  fortunate  result,  may  be  learned  from  the 
story  of  the  terrible  disaster   which  overtook  the  Donner 
party,  among  whom  were  some  Irish-one  of  them  now  a^ 
extensive  proprietor  in  the  county  of  Monterey.    This  party 
consistmg  of  over  eighty  persons,  crossed  the  plain  in  the 
summer  of  1846.     On  the  31st  of  October  they  were  caught 
m  a  snow  storm  in  the  CaHfornian  mountains,  in  ^hich  aU 
their  cattle  perished;  and  having  consumed  the  last  of 
their  provisions,  and  even  eaten  the  leather  of  their  saddles 
and  harness,  they  were  driven  to  the  dreadful  extremity  of 
feasting  on  the  remains  of  those  who  had  died  of  cold  and 
iiunger.      A  gallant  band  was  despatched  to  their  rehef. 
horn  San  Francisco;  but,  owing  to  the  high  state  of  the 
waters  of  the  Sacramento,  and  the  heavy  snowfaU  in  the 
mountams    they  were  delayed  several  weeks  before  they 
could  reach  the  sufferers.     On  the  1st  of  March  1847,  reUef 

company  of  eigh.y-one,  not  more  than  forty-five  were  found 

One  oMl  T'"r^"  ^^-''^    ^^™^^  ^''^'^''^   l^^rribly. 
One  of  the  band  sent. to  their  aid,  an  Irishman,  was  in 


■Ha 


■  -1 

.« 

J 

i 
K 

■'im 

,1 
.3 
I 


268 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


uii 


lime  to  save  a  poor  famislied  and  frenzied  mother  frcm 
laying  deadly  hands  on  her  own  infant,  to  which  he  gave 
the  shelter  of  his  coat  and  the  warmth  of  his  honest  breast 
all  the  way  to  San  Francisco.  The  Eanch  owner,  who  was 
one  of  the  survivors,  is  now  living  in  San  Juan,  South, 
with  his  wife  and  grown-up  children,  who  shared  the 
privations  of  that  terrific  trip  across  the  plains.  The  old 
gentleman,  though  now  in  his  seventy-fifty  year,  is  in  the 
most  robust  health,   and    looks    years  younger  than   his 

actual  age. 

In  the  following  years  many  famihes  of  Irish,  as  weU  as 
young  single  men,  came  by  every  train  that  then  regularly 
arrived  in  the  fall.  Some  had  means,  others  had  educa- 
tion without  means,  and  more  were  deficient  in  both  ;  but 
if  some  lacked  both  of  these  important  advantages,  thej  had 
shrewdness,  inteUigence,  vigour  of  body,  and  a  determina- 
tion to  allow  no  obstacle  to  stand  long  in  their  path. 

The  daring  adventure  of  a  poor  labourer  from  the 
county  Meath  affords  a  splendid  instance  of  pluck  and 
perseverance. 

Patrick  Clark,  seeing  so  many  of  his  countrymen  leavmg 
Missouri,  and  pushing  on  for  the  new  land,  of  which  such 
promising  accounts  were  given  by  returning  trappers,  was 
resolved,  if  possible,  to  imitate  their  example,  and,  hke 
them,  better  his  condition.  Pat  had  energy  and  ambition 
sufficient  for  any  undertaking ;  but  to  get  over  between  two 
and  three  thousand  miles  of  grounl,  and  with  provisions 
.enough  to  support  Hfe  on  the  journey,  required  such  ordi- 
nary apphances  as  a  waggon,  a  team  of  oxen,  and  other 
matters,  all  entirely  beyond  Pat's  reach.  AVhat  was  he  to 
do^  Go  he  would,  but  how?  As  a  landsman  ofters  to 
work  his  passage  in  a  ship,  so  did  Pat  Clark  proffer  his 
services  as  a  teamster.  He  was  wilhng  to  feed  himself. 
and  he  would  not  demand  a  cent  for  his  services.  But  no 
one  required  his  services,  or  would  have  them.  Pat  was 
checked,  not  defeated ;  go  he  was  resolved,  though  he  hud 


TAT  CLARK.  BUT  ONE  MORMON. 


269 


to  trudge  every  step  of  the  weary  way.  And  this  he  very 
nearly  did.  He  purchased  a  hand-cart,  in  which  he  placed 
his  blankets,  some  flour,  bacon,  and  a  few  other  neces- 
siiries,  and  manfuUy  set  out  on  his  tremendous  journey, 
now  pushing  before  him,  now  dragging  after  him,  his 
hand-cart  with  his  precious  stock  of  provisions ;  and  in  this 
manner  he  had  actually  traversed  1,800  miles,  when  he  was 
overtaken  by  some  compassionate  traveller  on  the  same 
route,  who  gave  the  poor  foot-sore  but  brave-hearted 
Irishman  a  lift  in  his  waggon,  and  enabled  him  to  accom- 
plish the  remainder  of  .his  journey  in  o  manner  the  comfort 
of  which  he  could  keenly  appreciate.  The  Meath  man 
settled  down  on  Cache  Creek,  and  was  soon  independent. 
Irishmen  of  his  stamp  cannot  fail  in  what  they  undertake. 

There  was  in  the  year  1847  a  migration  of  a  pecuhar 
character,  in  which  the  Irish  had  a  very  smaP.  .aare  indeed. 
The  ship  'Brooklyn'  arrived  at  San  Francisco  in  the  sum- 
mer of  that  year,  with  150  Mormons,  composed  principally 
of  English,  Scotch,  and  Welsh,  with  a  few  Americans.  Of 
the  whole  number  one  was  an  Irishman— a  young  fellow 
named  Fergusson,  said  to  be  from  AVaterfori.  The  party 
pushed  on  to  the  Salt  Lake,  the  single  Irishman  going 
with  them.  'What  his  end  in  this  life  was,  or  may  be,  is 
uncertain,'  says  the  friend  who  mentions  the  arrival  of  the 
ship  and  its  godly  freight.  From  this  arrival  California 
gained  notliing ;  but  the  same  year  came  Stevenson's  re- 
giment of  New  York  Volunteers,  who  held  possession  of 
the  country  untU  it  was  ceded  by  treaty  to  the  United 
States ;  and  of  this  regiment  not  a  few  of  the  Irish  officers 
and  privates  remained  in  Cahfornia,  and  in  time  became 
distinguished  citizens  of  the  new  State. 

Shortly  after  was  the  headlong  rush  to  the  recently  dis- 
covered gold-fields,  causing  an  immediate  and  immense 
accession  to  the  population.  In  this  headlong  rush  came 
Irishmen,  not  only  from  Ireland,  but  from  every  part  ol 
the  States;  from  Mexico  as  weU  as  the  British  provinces, 


■:'3 

J  'J 


■  ■. ;« 

9 

.J 


,3 
■J 

,■4 


270 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•?>. 


from  Australia  equally  as  from  England  and  Scotland, 
Animated  by  the  same  passion,  imx^oUed  by  the  same  thirst 
for  gain,  all  nationalities  were  merged  in  one  great  con- 
fusion of  races  and  tongues  ;  while  in  the  universal  scramble 
for  gold,  every  social  distinction  was  trampled  under  foot, 
individual  superiority  depending,  not  on  good  breeding  or 
intellectual  cultivation,  but  on  the  greater  capacity  for  la- 
bour, or  the  tougher  power  of  endurance.  For  a  time  at 
least,  simple  manhood  carried  the  day  against  all  artificial 
gradations  in  the  social  hierarchy  ;  the  hodman  and  the 
doctor,  the  labourer  and  the  lawyer,  standing  upon  exactly 
the  same  level,  provided  that  the  doctor  and  the  lawyer 
happened  to  be  endowed  with  thews  and  sinews  as  strong 
and  as  serviceable  as  those  of  his  brother  gold-seekers,  the 
hodman  and  the  labourer.  In  such  a  competition  there 
was  a  glorious  chance  for  the  humblest  or  most  recently 
arrived  of  the  Irish  new-comers.  With  the  pick  and  the 
shovel  they  were  a  match  for  any  workers  under  the  sun, 
and  their  hick  was  on  the  average  ^s  fortunate  as  that  of 
others.  It  was  a  fair  start,  and  no  favour— just  what  best 
suits  the  true  Irishman :  and  the  result  at  this  moment  is, 
that  one-half,  or  nearly  one-half,  of  the  entire  mining  pro- 
perty of  the  country  is  in  the  hands  of  Irishmen  or  the 
sons  of  Irishmen.  The  mine  known  as  the  Allison  Ranch, 
which  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  richest  in  the  -  vrld, 
and  which  last  year  employed  between  500  and  600  workers, 
is  owned  by  five  Irishmen  and  an  American. 

Fortunately  for  their  ultimate  and  permanent  success, 
many  Irishmen  either  failed  in  their  mining  opera- 
tions, became  dissatisfied  with  the  wearisome  monotony  of 
the  daily  drudgery,  or  desired  to  engage  in  some  more 
lucrative  employment ;  and  they  wisely  turned  their  at- 
tention to  what  was  more  certain  to  reward  steady  industry 
—the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  moment,  too,  was  singu- 
larly propitious.  Dniing  the  height  of  the  gold  fever, 
when  the  one  jiursuit  absorbed  almost  every  thought,  all 


d   Scotland, 

same  thirst 
)  great  con- 
sal  scramble 

under  foot, 
breeding  or 
acity  for  la- 
T  a  time  at 

all  artificial 
an  and  the 
pon  exactl}' 

the  lawyer 
s  as  strong 
seekers,  the 
:ition  there 
st  recently 
Lck  and  the 
ler  the  sun, 
e  as  that  oi 
t  what  best 
moment  is, 
nining  pro- 
men  or  the 
ison  Ranch, 
1  the  ■  vrld, 
00  workers, 

mt  success, 
ing  opera- 
lonotony  of 
some  more 
d  their  at- 
dy  industry 
,  was  singu- 
gold  fever, 
thought,  all 


THE  IRISH  WISELY  SETTLE  ON  THE  LAx\D. 
kinds  of  garden  produce  were  sold  i 


271 


fabulous  prices;  and 
even  in  a  year  or  two  after,  12  or  15  cents  for  a  pound  of 
pota  oes  was  regarded  as  a  moderate  price  for  that  essential 
article  of  fc>od.      The  hourly  increasing  demand  for   the 
produce  of  the  field  and  the  garden  imparted  a  wonderful 
stnnu  us    to    agricultural    industry,   to   which    the    Irish 
brought   both   energy  and   experience.      When   they  had 
made   money  in   the  mines,  they  purchased  a  convenient 
piece  of  land,  and  soon  rendered  it  productive  and  profit- 
able ;   or  had  they  been  unlucky  in  their  hunt  after  the 
precious  metal,  they  hired  themselves  as  farm  hands  and 
beino^paid   enormous  wages-wages  which  would  render 
high  farming  in  Europe  an  utter  impossibihty-they  in  a 
Bhorttime  accumulated  sufficient  capital  to  purchase  land  . 
for  themselves.      Employment   was    to   be    had  in   every 
direction  by  those  who   were  wiUing  to  work ;  and  none 
were  more  wiUing  than  the  Irish.      Everythhig  had  to  be 
built  up,  hteraUy  created-cities    and   towns    as  well   as 
commumties.      Labour,  which  is  not  estimated  at  its  true 
value  m  older  countries,  where  the  great  work  has  Ion- 
smce    been   accomphshed,    and  in   which    society  has   its 
grades  and  classes  and  distinctions,  was  highly  prized  and 
reverently  regarded  in  California  ;   for  without  it  nothing 
could  be  done,  where  everything  had  to  be  done  ;  and  the 
humble  Irishman  laid  the  foundation  of  his  own  fortunes 
while  rendering  to   the  infant   State   services  which  were 
priceless  in   their  value.      Happily,  the  cities    and  towns 
did  not  seduce  the  Irish  fi-om  their  legitimate  sphere,  and 
the  dollars  made  in  the  mine,  or  in  ditching  and  dio-<nn^^ 
or  m  hard  toil  of  various  kinds,  were  converted  into  land  • 
and  mdeed  with  such  success  did  they  pursue  this  sound 
pohcy-which  it  would  be  well  for  the  race  were  it  more 
taensively  adopted   in   America-that   the   one-fourtli  of 
the  farming  of  the  State  of  California  is  in  the  hands  of 
Irishmen.     This  is  remarkably  so  in  the  counties  of  Santa 
tiara,    San    Joaquin,    Marin,    Sonoma,    Almeda,    Contra 


I 

■  ■  n 


272 


tllE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


4 


Costa,  and  Santa  Cruz.  As  agriculturists  and  stock-raisers, 
the  Irish  are  the  leaders  in  almost  every  county  in  the 
State,  more  particularly  those  counties  lying  on  the  sea- 
coast  and  adjacent  to  the  bay  and  wafers  of  San  Francisco. 

Inasmuch  as  it  is  more  interesting  to  note  what  the 
humble  man — the  Irish  peasant — has  done  through  his 
unaided  industry,  than  what  the  gentleman  has  accom- 
plished through  the  possession  of  capital,  or  with  the 
advantages  of  education,  an  instance  of  this  nature  may  be 
mentioned. 

There  are  two  townships  in  Marin  county — Tumahs  and 
San  Rafael— largely  owned  and  occupied  by  Irish.  The 
former  of  these  is  as  extensive  and  as  rich  as  any  tract 
of  land  in  the  State,  and  is  almost  exclusively  possessed 
by  Irishmen,  nearly  all  of  whom  a  few  years  ago  were 
Moulders,  working  for  monthly  wages  on  the  ranches  of 
the  old  proprietors,  or  delving  in  the  mines.  They  worked 
and  they  delved  until  they  saved  enough  to  purchase  a 
piece  of  land  ;  and  now  these  men,  who  at  home  were 
poor  peasants,  and,  perhaps,  would  have  been  little  better 
had  they  remained  in  the  old  country,  are  the  i  roprietors 
of  estates  ranging  from  IGO  to  1,000  acres  of  the  best  land 
in  California!  Here  are  three  Irishmen,  two  of  them 
'boys'  from  Tipperary,  who  in  1850  worked  on  Anally 
Ranch  ;  one  of  those  is  the  owner  of  800  acres  of  land  in 
Tumalis,  well-stocked  and  cultivated  ;  and  the  Tipperary 
boys  are  rich  farmers,  and  surrounded  with  every  comfort. 
There  are,  and  will  be,  among  the  children  of  these  suc- 
cessful settlers  those  whose  special  genius,  or  whose  bent 
of  mind  will  naturally  lead  them  to  the  city  and  its 
pursuits  ;  but  their  parents  adopted  the  wisest  and  safest 
course  for  themselves  and  >  heir  descendants— they  planted 
themselves  on  the  soil,  and  thus  laid  the  foundations  of  a 
prosperous  and  independent  race.  Many  of  our  people 
are,  from  special  aptitude,  knowledge  or  experience,  best 
suited  to  a  town  hfe,  where  alone  they  may  find  employ- 


flow  THEY  SUCCEEDED  IN  THE  CITIES. 


273 


k-raisers, 

by  in  the 
tlio  aea- 
l^rancisco. 
what  the 
ough  his 
s  accom- 
with  the 
•e  may  be 

iialis  and 
sh.  The 
any  tract 
possessed 
ago  were 
inches  of 
ly  worked 
irchase  a 
Dme  were 
:tle  better 
roprietors 
best  land 
of  them 
»n  Anally 
)f  land  in 
ripperary 
f  comfort, 
liese  suc- 
tiose  bent 
'  and  its 
md  safest 
sy  planted 
tions  of  a 
ir  people 
mee,  best 
I  employ- 


ment for  their  trained  skiU,  or  a  suitable  field  for  their 
talents  ;  but  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  leave  their 
native  country  for  America,  were  born  on  the  land,  were 
reared  on  the  land,  were  employed  on  the  land  ;  and  the 
land  is  the  right  place  for  them,  whether  in  America  or  at 
home. 

We  may  now  see  what  the  Irish  have  done  in  the  cities 
of  California.     San  Francisco,   the    most   famous   of   the 
fair  cities  of  the  United  States,  will  suffice  as  an  iUustration 
of  the  position  and  progress  of  the  children  of  Erin.     It  is 
rather   a   singular   coincidence  that   an   Irif.hman,   Jasper 
O'Farrell,  laid  out  the  city  which  his  countrymen  did  r., 
much  to  build  up  ;  and  that  in  1850,  while  all  was  still  in 
chaos  and  confusion,  and  license  was  the  order  of  the  day, 
another  Irisnman,  Malachi  Fallon,  was  caUed  on  by  a  vote 
of    the   assembled  citizens  to    leave   his   position   at  the 
mines,  and  assume  the  administration  of  the  pohce  afiVurs 
of  the  city  ;  which  he  did  with  admitted  success.     It  was 
two  Irishmen— James   and  Peter  Donahue— that  erected 
the  first  foundiy  in  San  Francisco,  which  enterprise  led  to 
the  rapid  increase    of    mechanical  industry.      The   same 
firm  projected  the  gas  works  ;  and  with  such  success  waa 
this  important  undertaking  croM-ned,  that  the  stock  of  tho 
Company  has  increased  to  six  miUion  dollars.     The  same 
firm  erected  the  largest  hotel  in  the  city,  at  a  cost  of  more 
than  half  a  million.      The   first   street  railway— fi-om  tho 
City  to  the  Mission  of  Dolores— was  projected  by  an  Irish, 
man,  Col.  Thomas  Hayes.     Among  the  private  bankers  of 
San  Francisco,  Donahue,  Kelly  &  Co.  take  the  lead  ;  their 
firm,  established  in  18G4,  does  a  larger  amount  of  business 
than  that  of  KothschHd,  which  dates  as  far  back  as  1849. 
But  a  stiU  more  interesting  item— the  first  public  donation 
to   a  charitable   purpose  was   made   by  two  distinguished 
Inshmen,   Don   Timoteo   Murphy,   and  Jasper   O'Farrell 
who   '  donated '  the  lot  of  ground  now  occupied  by  the 
Orphan  Asylum,  and  which  is  at  present  worth  200,000 


'•stm 


V 

\"  * 

n 

■.J 


3 
J 


274 


THE  miSII  IN  AMERICA. 


►Hi 


dollars.  The  greatcHt  ovation  ever  offered  by  the  eitizonfl 
to  an  indi\dual  was  given  to  John  G.  Downey,  an  Irish- 
man, who  for  two  years  ably  lilled  the  oHice  of  Governor 
of  the  State.  Irish nuni  held  a  prominent  positicjn  in  the 
convention  by  which  the  eonntitutiou  was  formed  ;  and  in 
both  branches  of  the  Legislatnre' Irishmen,  or  the  sons  of 
Irishmen,  are  to  be  found.  Among  the  largest  holders  of 
city  property,  the  most  extensive  merchants,  the  most  suc- 
cessful men  of  business,  the  ablest  engineers,  the  most 
accomphshed  architects,  and  the  most  reliable  contractors, 
are  Irishmen  ;  and  in  all  branches  of  the  legal  profession, 
whether  practising  in  chamber,  or  in  civil  or  criminal 
business  in  courts,  Irishmen  enjoy  an  envial)lo  repute.* 
In  fact,  as  soon  as  society,  which,  from  the  special  circum- 
stances of  thp  country,  had  been  in  a  somewhat  chaotic 
state,  settled  down  into  its  ordinary  grooves,  the  Irish  took 
their  place  among  the  foremost  in  the  battle  of  life  ;  and 
in  its  eager  struggle  for  wealth  and  distinction  they  held 
their  own  with  their  co-labourers  of  every  other  nationality. 
It  may  be  questioned  if  in  any  part  of  the  Union  the 
Irish  of  the  working  classes  are  better  off  in  all  respects 
than  they  are  in  San  Francisco.  The  immense  and  con- 
tinuous employment,  as  well  as  the  liberal  xate  of  remune- 
ration, have  had  much  to  do  with  this;  but  the  thrifty 
habits  and  admh'able  conduct  of  the  Irish  is  the  happy 
result  equally  attributable.  Though  wages  of  all  kinds  are 
liberal  at  present,  and  employment  is  constantly  to  be 
obtained  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  year,  still  the  rate 
of  remuneration  is  not  equal  to  what  it  was  when  the  work 
to  be  done  was  more  pressing,  the  hands  to  do  it  wero 

*  Among  the  lawyers  of  Irish  birth  may  bo  mentioned  ^res8rs.  Doyle,  Casserley, 
Byrne,  and  Delany.  The  last-mentioned  gentleman— Charles  M'Carthy  Delany 
—is  brother  to  tlic  Right  Rev.  Dr  Delany,  Catholie  Bishop  of  Cork.  Mr.  Delauy's 
practice  cluefl;"  lies  in  conveyancing  ;  and  I  have  been  informed,  on  the  authority 
of  persons  of  great  experience,  as  old  residents  in  California,  that  although  an 
enormous  amount  of  property  has  passed  through  his  hands,  in  his  i)rofessional 
capacity,  not  a  dollar  lias  ever  been  lost  to  his  cliente  either  through  erroneous 
advici),  or  from  a  flaw  or  defect  in  the  titles  which  ho  made  oiit. 


SUCCESSFUL  THRIFT.      IRISH  GIRLS. 


he  oitizfnfl 
,  nil  Irisli- 
Govoriior 
ion  in  tlit; 
d  ;  and  in 
ho  sons  of 
holders  of 
most  Huc- 
tho  most 
ontructors, 
profession, 
r  criminal 
e  repute.* 
ial  circum- 
lat  chaotic 
Irish  took 
■  life  ;  and 
,  they  held 
lationality. 
Union  the 
Jl  respects 
)  and  con- 
)f  remune- 
the  thrifty 
the  happy 
.1  kinds  are 
ntly  to  be 
ill  the  rato 
n  the  work 
do  it  were 

loj'le,  Cassorlpy, 
'Carthy  Delaiiy 
,  Ur.  Dolauy's 
)ii  the  authority 
at  although  an 
lis  i)rofossioiial 
)iiRh  erroneous 


275 

fewer,  and  the  mines  attracted  almost  univoiMfd  attention 
From   184!)   to    18.^,;{   skilled  labour  nm-c-d  from  ii  to  10 
dollai-H   a  day,  while  unskiik.d  lal)oiir  comniiindod  from  li 
to  r,  dollars  a  day.     Washin-  was  then  as  hi-h  as  (J  dollars 
per   dozen !     Women  in  domestic   employment  were  paid 
at  from  50  to  70  d.jllars  a  month.     From  wages  such  as 
these  it  was  not  difficult  for  an  industrious  and  economical 
person  to  save  money.     Many  did  so,  and  bought  lots  on 
the  outskirts  of   the  town,  which  soon  extended  in  every 
direction,  and  so  enhanced  the  value  of  the  property  thus 
honourably  obtained,  as  to  render  its  owners  rich  without 
any  further  exertion  on  their  part.     I  am  happy  to  know 
of  many,  many  instances  of  such  successful  thrift  and  fore- 
thought on  the   part  of    Irishmen   in  every  part   of   the 
United  States,  and  also  in  the  British  Provinces. 

Mechanics  now  earn  from  4  to  5  doUars,  while  labourers 
receive  from  2  to  8  dollars  a  day.  This,  taking  the  present 
value  of  the  dollar,  would  be,  on  an  average,  14.s'.  Gd.  a  day 
for  the  mechanic,  and  8.s.  a  day  for  the  labourer.  Being 
so  amplj,  remunerated,  almost  every  working-man,  whether 
mechanic,  labourer,  or  drayman,  owns  the  house  in  which 
he  lives,  and  the  lot  on  which  it  stands.  Different  indeed 
from  the  state  of  things  in  New  York,  where  the  well-paid 
mechanic,  who  but  rarely  owns  the  house  in  which  he  lives, 
has  to  pay  100  or  120  dollars  a  year  for  two  or  three  rooms 
ill  a  tenement  house.  Women  servants  receive  from  20 
to  40  doUars  a  month,  according  to  their  occupation  or 
proficiency,  or  the  class  of  people  in  whose  houses  they 
reside. 

If  any  further  proof  were  required  of  the  condition  of 
the  Irish  in  San  Francisco,  it  is  to  be  had  in  the  facts 
connected  with  the  Hibernian  Savings'  Bank  and  Loan 
Society,  now  nearly  completing  its  eighth  year  of  useful- 
noss.  The  deposits  in  this  bank  to  January  21,  18G7,  were 
5,241,000  dollars.  I  perceive  by  the  returns  for  18G0  that 
the  depositors  receive  interest  at  the  rate  of  eleven  per  cent.. 


iituti.  m».  mr  ,-^  ittfe.  ■;:^;i»a>'"w 


2TI 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


P»,. 


and  tliftt  the  cariiinpfR  that  year  amounted  lo  211,000  dolH. 
IJiit  it  in  nioro  ini]H)rtaut  to  Iciirn  that  Hov(ni-(n<<liths  of  tlio 
depoHitoiH  arc  Irish,  and  tliat  of  the  amount  dei)oHited  )»y 
the  IriHh  fully  three-fourthH  belong  to  the  working  elaiiHCH, 
including  niechanicH,  lubourern,  and  girly  in  variouH  eiu- 
pkiyniciitH. 

Of  the  Irish  girls  in  America  I  have  spoken  elsewhere  ; 
but   any  notice   of   the  race  in   San  Francisco,   in  which 
special  mention  of  the  Irish  girls  of  that  city  was  not  made, 
would  bo  most  incomplete.     They  form  a  considerable  and 
valuable   ])ortion  of    its    population,    and    are    deservedly 
esteemed  by  all  classes  of  its  citizens.     They  are  industrious, 
intelligent,   faithful,  generous,  high-spirited,  and  intensely 
devoted  to  their  religion,  of  which  they  are  the  proudest 
ornaments    and   best   examples.      So  justly  esteemed  are 
these  Irish  girls  for  purity  and  honour,  that  some  2,000  of 
them  have  been  well  married— fully  half  of  that  number 
to   men  of  substance  and  good  position.     It  may  be  re- 
marked  that  a   considerable   number  of    them   had   been 
tenderly   reared    at    homo,    where    they    received    a    fair 
education ;  but  driven  by  circumstances  to  emigrate,  they 
were   of   necessity   obliged   to   acc(^pt   even   the   humblest 
situations   in   a   foreign   land.     They  soon,  however,  rose 
above   the   lowly  condition  which   tliey  dignified  by  their 
intelligence     and    worth,    and    found    in    an    honourable 
marriage  ample   compensation  for  all  their   former  trials. 
It  is  estimated  that  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  Irish  girls 
in  domestic  employment  in  San  Fi-ancisco  can  read  fairly, 
while  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  can  both  write  and  read  well. 
The  rate  of  wages  for  domestic  employment  ranges  from 
20  to  40  dollars  a  month.     The  average  would  come  to 
GOl   a  year.      Out    of    this    income  they    save   a   certain 
portion,  indulge  their  Celtic  love  of   finery,  gratify  their 
charitable  and  religious  instincts  by  generous  contributions 
to  church,  to  convent,  to  orphanage,  and  to  asylum;   and 
the  balance  is  devoted  to  the  two-fold  purpose,  with  them 


1,000  (lolH. 

tllH  of    tlu) 

[)()Hitc(l  by 

riouH  om- 

ilHowhcre ; 
in  which 
not  made, 
ii'iiblo  and 
Lleservedly 
idustriouH, 

I  intensely 
3  proudest 
3cnied  are 
le  2,000  of 
it  number 
lay  be  re- 
had   been 

ed    a    fair 

^rate,  they 

humblest 

^ever,  rose 

II  by  their 
lionourable 
mer  trials. 

Irish  girls 
read  fairly, 
1  read  well, 
mges  from 
d  come  to 
a  certain 
ratify  their 
ntributiona 
ylum ;   and 

with  them 


TIIK  CIIUKCH  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO.  m 

almoflt  equally  Hacred-to  assist  tlioir  parents  or  n-ed 
relatives  in  the  old  country,  or  bnnK  out  a  bn.thn-  or  a 
siHtor  to  their  adopted  home.  It  is  calculated  by  tlu.se 
who  have  every  means  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  that  tl,o 
Irish  girls  employed  in  ^an  Francisco  annually  remit  to 
Ireland,  for  the  purposes  stated,  the  sum  of  270  000 
dohars  I  What  eulogium  can  ocpial  the  mere  mention  of 
this  fact  ? 

Whatever  religious  indiflerentism  there  may  bo  in  otlier 
parts  of  America,  there  is  none  in  San  Francisco  among 
Its  Irish  Catholic  population.     In  their  hard  stru.^-le  for 
the  good  things  of  this  life  they  did  not  forget  tlu^h^inter- 
ests  in  the  next ;  and  such  was  the  liborahty  with  which  they 
co-operated  with  the  zeal  of  their  pastors,  that,  in  Httle 
more  tiian  a  dozen  years  after  the  new  city  began  to  rise 
obove  the  huts  and  shanties  that  once  occupied  its  site  the 
church  property,  including  buildings  and  real  estate,' was 
valued  at  2,010,000  dollars.     This    includes  the  cathedral 
and  five  other  churches,  convents,  asylums,  and  hospitals, 
viivmg  Catholics  of  other  nationalities  full  credit  for  their 
hbeiality,  and  allowing  for  the  generous  assistance  aftbrded 
by  those   of  diflerent  denomin.'itions,  it  is   admitted   that 
three-fourths  of  what  has  been  done  for  the  Church  in  the 
city  and  county  of  San  Francisco  has  been  done  by  tlio 
Irish.     In  fact,  without  them  httle  could  have  been  done  ; 
but  with  them  everything  was  possible.     It  is  superfluous 
to  state  that  the  Irish  women  of  San  Francisco  are  famous 
for    their    piety   and    zeal    for  rehgion— that,    indeed,    is 
characteristic  of  the  race  throughout  America ;  but  it  has 
been  particularly  remarked  by  those  who  have  had  oppor- 
tunities of  observation  in  many  of  the  States,  that  in  few 
places,  if  in  any,  did  ihef  notice  a  greater  number  of  men, 
in  the  prime  of  hfe,  and  actively  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of 
bushiess,  so  constant  in  the  performance  of  their  religious 
duties,  as  penitents  in  the  confessional,  and  communicants 
at  the  altar,  than  in  this  noble  city.     With  every  charit- 


3 

i 


278 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


able  and  benevolent  undertaking  men  of  this  class  are 
instinctively  identified,  either  as  leaders  and  promoters,  or 
as  zealous  ard  liberal  supporters ;  and  should  they  shrink 
from  a  position  too  prominent  for  th(jir  modesty,  th(^y  more 
than  compensate  for  their  sensitiveness  by  the  abundance 
of  their  generosity. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  progress  and  present  position  of 
the  Irish  in  San  Frar.cisco,  a  few  significant  items  might 
be  quoted  from  the  record  of  the  Assessor  of  Taxes  ;  but  it 
is  sufi&cient  to  state  that,  with  the  exception  of  four  others, 
not  Irisli,  six  Irishmen  are  the  highest  rated  of  its  citizens. 
One  fact,  however,  renders  further  details  unnecessary — 
namely,  that  while  the  Irish  constitute  the  one-fourth  of 
the  population  of  San  Francisco,  or  30,000  out  of  120.000, 
they  are  considered  to  possess  one-fourth  of  the  entire 
p'operty  of  the  city,  or  20,000,000  out  of  80,000,000  of 
dollars.  And  yet  of  every  100  Irish  who  came  to  San 
Francisco,  as  to  California  generally,  75  were  either  poor 
or  scantily  provided  with  means.  Few,  indeed,  brought 
any  money  capital  with  them,  but  they  had  energy,  in- 
dustry, with  capacity  for  all  kinds  of  work  ;  and  though 
they  came  from  a  country  in  which  enterprise  had  little 
existence,  and  industry  not  at  all  times  a  fair  field  or  a 
right  reward,  these  men  and  women  of  Irish  race  soon 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  American — the  right  spirit  for  a 
new  country,  the  genuine  '  Go-ahead ' — that  which  always 
looks  forward  and  never  looks  back. 

AVith  the  mention  of  a  single,  case — of  an  Irishman 
who  was  certainly  one  of  the  se\enty-five  per  cent,  who 
brought  with  them  to  the  land  of  gold  but  little  of  the 
world's  goods — I  may  usefully  conclude  this  sketch  of  the 
Irish  in  California.  It  may  be  given  in  the  words  of  my 
informant,  a  gcatlenian  who  left  Ireland  for  America  in 
1849.  He  says  :  '  There  is  one  circumstance  in  connection 
with  my  coming  to  America  that  lias  always,  and  will 
always,  give  me  great  pleasure.     I  mention  it  with  a  view 


WHAT  A  POOR  IRISHMAN  CAN  DO. 


27« 


class  are 
moters,  or 
ley  shrink 
th(^y  iiioro 
ibundanee 

osition  of 
:ius  might 
;es  ;  but  it 
ur  others, 
s  citizens. 
3cessarv — 
i-fourth  of 
)f  120,000, 
:he  entire 
000,000  of 
le  to  San 
ther  poor 
.,  brought 
nergy,  in- 
id  though 
had  little 
field  or  a 
race  soon 
)irit  for  a 
cli  always 

Irishman 
cent,  who 
tie  of  the 
:cli  of  the 
rds  of  my 
.merica  in 
!onnection 
,  and  will 
th  a  view 


to  enable  ^ou  to  judge  of  what  a  poor  Irishman  can  ac- 
complish in  this  country  with  a  fair  field  before  him.     About 
thcl  time  I  was  making  up  my  mind  to  come  to  California, 
I   was   then   engaged  in   building  some    public  works   in 
the  town  of  Sligo.     I  had  then   in   my  employment,  and 
for   a   short  time    before,   a   confidential    labouring  man. 
At  that  time  he  had  a  wife  and  six  children  in  the  poor- 
house  in  Tullamore,  in  the  King's  County,  to  which   he 
belonged,  having    been    dispossessed  of  a  small  piece  of 
land  in  that  neighbourhood.     When  I  mentioned  to  him 
that  I  was   going  to   California,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and 
implored  rae  to  take  him  with  me.     I  was  at  first  thunder- 
struck at  the  idea  of  his  wiUingness  to  leave  his  family, 
and  go  to  so  distant  a  country,  and  I  so  expressed  myseK 
to  him.     But  he  answered  me— "If  I  remain  here,  I  lose 
my  employment,  and  I,  too,  must  go  into  the  poor-house, 
and  then  all  hope  is  over."    I  felt  too  keenly  the  truth  of 
his  reply.     I  could  make  no  further  objection,  and  I  told 
him  I  would  take  him  with  me.     In  a  year  after  his  arrival 
in  this  country  he  sent  home  money,  took  his  family  out  of 
the  work-house,  and  sent  his  children  to  school.     They  are 
all  now  here,  his  daughters  well  married,  his  sons  in  good 
situations,  and  the  old  couple,  with  two  of  their  younger 
children,  b  irn  in  Cahfornia,  living  in  a  comfortable  way  on 
II  good  farm,  from  which  no  baihff  can  eject  them.     The  sim- 
ple statement  of  the  history  of  this  family  speaks  volumes, 
in  my  mind,  of  what  the  Irish  can  do  in  Amei-ica. 

In  this  language  speaks  another  Irishman,  a  Cahfornian 
resident  of  long  standing,  whose  name  is  held  in  merited 
respect  by  all  who  know  him  :  '  Thus,  in  general  with  but 
a  poor  beginning,  in  a  manner  friendless,  strangers  in  a 
strange  land,  have  our  people  struggled  and  fought,  and 
been  victorious.  Their  bones  will  lie  far  away  from  the 
hallowed  dust  of  their  kindred  ;  yet  every  mountain,  hill- 
side, and  valley  in  this  favoured  land  will  give  evidence  to 
posterity  of  their  toil,  enterprise,  and  success.     Their  foot- 


'■^:' 


•  ;.fl 

.  M 

I 

.1 


1 

it' 

'3 


'■^m 


280 


THE  IRISn  IN  AMERICA. 


prints,  marking  the  genius  and  traditions  of  their  race,  their 
love  and  veneration  of  the  old  fiiith,  and  the  old  country 
from  which  they  were  such  unwilling  exiles,  shall  endure  in 
the  land  for  ever.' 


As  this  sheet  was  going  through  the  press,  my  attention 
was  attracted  by  an  article  in  the  Monitor  of  San  Francisco, 
from  which  I  quote  the  concluding  passage,  written,  as  I 
believe,  in  the  right  spirit : — 

'It  is  our  interest  to  liave  as  many  of  onr  countrymen  here  as  possible  ; 
and,  moreover,  we  honestly  believe  no  other  country  holds  out  such  advan- 
tages for  their  coming.  They  have  not  the  prejudices  of  race  or  religious 
bigotry,  which  exist  in  some  parts  of  the  East,  to  contend  with  ;  unskilled 
labour  is  mororespeeled  here  than  there,  and  Anally,  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country  are  greater,  and  the  population  less  dense  than  in  any  of 
the  Atlantic  States.  Why  cannot  the  Irishmen  of  this  city  form  a  society 
for  diffusing  a  knowledge  of  California's  resources  among  our  country- 
men, and  communicatlug  with  employers  throughout  the  State,  for  secu- 
ring immediate  employment  on  their  arrival.  AYe  almost  feel  a  scruple 
about  encouraging  emigration  from  poor  depopulated  Ireland,  where  the 
fortunes  of  our  race  have  yet  to  be  retrieved ;  but  in  England  and  Scot- 
land there  are  nearly  a  million  of  Irishmen  from  whoso  ranks  we  could 
easily  obtain  an  annual  immigration  of  many  thousands  by  a  system  such 
as  that  we  have  just  proposed.  We  know  by  experience  the  state  of  feel- 
ing existing  among  our  countrymen  in  Europe,  and  we  believe  that  by  a 
plan  such  as  we  have  described,  an  immense  Irish  population  could  be 
drawn  here,  to  both  their  own  and  our  advantage.  The  Irish  of  Oaliibr- 
nia  are  wealthy  and  liberal,  and  surely  such  a  society  as  the  one  we  have 
proposed,  could  be  easily  started  among  them.  We  hope  our  suggestions 
may  turn  the  attention  of  some  of  them  to  the  practical  developiKent  of 
Irish  immigration  from  England  and  the  Eastern  cities.' 


race,  their 
(1  country 
endure  in 


attention 
Francisco, 
Ltten,  as  I 


as  possible ; 
such  advau- 
or  religious 
1  ;  unskilled 
•al  resources 
m  in  any  of 
I'm  a  society 
)ur  country- 
te,  for  secu- 
!el  a  scruple 
1,  where  the 
iid  arid  Scot- 
ks  we  could 
system  such 
state  of  feel- 
ve  that  by  a 
ion  could  be 
h  of  Oalifor- 
one  we  have 
'  suggestions 
elopixent  of 


CHAPTER  Xiy. 


Drink  more  injurious  to  the  Irish  than  to  others -Why  this  is  so— 
Archbishop  Spalding's  testimony— Drink  and  Politics-Temper- 


ance Organisations— Hope  in  the  Future 


¥EPtE  I  asked  to  say  what  I  believed  to  be  the  most 
serious  obstacle  to  the  advancement  of  the  Irish  in 
America,  I  would  unhesitatingly  aws^ev—Drinh ;  meaning 
thereby  the  excessive  use,  or  abuse,  of  that  which,  when 
taken  in  excess,  intoxicates,   deprives  man  of  his  reason, 
interferes   with  his  industry,  injures  his  health,  damages 
his  position,  compromises  his  respectabihty,  renders  him 
unlit  for  the  successful  exercise  of  his  trade,  profession,  or 
employment— which  leads  to  quarrel,  turbulence,  violence, 
crime,     I  believe   this  fatal   tendency  to  excessive  indul- 
gence to  be  the  main  cause  of  all  the  evils  and  miseries 
and  disappointments  that  have  strewed  the  great  cities  of 
America  with  those  wrecks  of  Irish  honour,  Irish  virtue, 
and  Irish  promise,  which  every  lover  of  Ireland  has  had,' 
one  time   or  other,  bitter  cause  to   deplore.     Differences 
of  race  and  religion  are  but  as  a  feather's  weight  in  the 
balance ;   indeed  these  differences  tend  rather  to  add  in- 
terest to   the   steady   and    self-respecting   citizen.      Were 
this  behef,  as  to  the  tendency  of  the  Irish  to  excess  in  the 
use  of  stimulants,  based  on  the  testimony  of  Americans, 
who  might  probably  be  somewhat  prejudiced,  and  therefore 
Inchned  to  judge  unfavourably,  or  pronounce  unsparingly, 
I  should  not  venture  to  record  it ;  but  it  was  impressed 
upon  me  by  Iiishmen  of  every  rank,  class,  and  condition 


■km 

tin 
I 


J 


282 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


of  life,  wherever  I  went,  North  or  South,  East  or  West. 
It  was  openly  deplored,  or  it  was  reluctantly  admitted.  I 
rarely  heard  an  Irishman  say  that  his  country  or  his 
rehgion  was  an  effectual  barrier  to  his  progress  in  the 
United  States.  On  the  contrary,  the  universal  admission 
was  this  :     '  Any  man,  no  matter  who  he  is,  what  country 

*  he  comes  from,  or  what  religion  he  professes,  can  get  on 
'  hero,  if  ho  is  determined  to  do  so  ;  and  he  will  be 
'respected  by  Americans,  if  he  will  only  respect  himself. 

*  If  the  Irishman  is  a  sober  man,  there  is  no  fear  of  him— 
*he  cannot  fail  of  success  ;  but  if  he  is  too  fond  of  the  drink, 
'it  is  all  up  with  Jtim — he  is  sure  to  fail.'  Expressed  in 
these  simple  words,  this  is  the  matured  and  deliberate 
verdict  of  every  experienced  or  observant  Irishman,  from 
the  most  exalted  dignitary  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  the 
humblest  workman  who  maintains  his  family  in  comfort 
by  his  honest  toil. 

The  question  here  naturally  arises, — do  the  Irish  drink 
more  than  the  people  of  any  other  nationality  in  America  ? 
The  result  of  my  observation  and  inquiries  leads  me  to 
the  conviction  that  they  do  not.  How  then  comes  it  that 
the  habit,  if  common  to  all,  is  so  pernicious  to  them? 
There  are  many  and  various  reasons  why  this  is  so.  In 
the  first  place,  they  are  strangers,  and,  as  such,  more 
subject  to  observation  and  criticism  than  the  natives  of  the 
country.  They  are,  also,  as  a  rule,  of  a  faith  dirferent  to 
that  of  the  majority  of  the  American  peoj)le ;  and  the  fact 
that  they  are  so  does  not  render  the  observation  less  keen, 
nor  does  it  render  the  criticism  more  gentle.  Then,  be  it 
constitution,  or  temperament,  or  whatever  else,  excess 
seems  to  be  more  injurious  to  them  than  to  others.  They 
are  genial,  open-hearted,  generous,  and  social  in  their 
tendencies ;  they  love  company,  court  excitement,  raid 
delight  in  affording  pleasure  or  gratification  to  their 
friends.     And    not  only    arc    their   very  virtues  leagued 


DRINK  MORE  INJURIOUS  TO  IRISH  THAN  OTHERS. 


233 


t  or  West. 
Imitted.  I 
try  or  his 
ess  in    jho 

admission 
at  country 
can  get  on 
le  will  be 
ct  himself. 
r  of  him— 
:  the  drink, 
pressed  in 

deliberate 
iman,  from 
irch  to  the 
in  comfort 

!rish  drink 
L  America  ? 
ads  me  to 
les  it  that 

to  them? 

is  so.  In 
uch,  more 
ives  of  the 
[liferent  to 
id  the  fact 

less  keen, 
riien,  be  it 
ise,  excess 
3rs.  They 
I  in  their 
oaent,    raid 

to  their 
js  leagued 


against  them,  but  the  prevailing  custom  of  the  country  is 
a  perpetual  challenge  to  indulgence. 

Ihis  prevaiUng  custom,  or  habit  springs  more  from  a 
spirit  of  kindness  than  fi'om  a  craving  for  sensual  grati- 
licahon.     Invitations  to  drink  are  universal,  as  to  rank  and 
station,  time  and  place,  hour  and  circumstance ;  they  ht- 
erally.ram  upon  you.     The  Americans  are  perhaps  about 
the  most  thoroughly  wide-awake  people  in  tlie  world,  yet 
they  must  have  an  'eye-opener'  in  the  morning.     To  pre- 
pare for  meals,  you  are  requested  to  fortify  your  stomach 
and  stimulate  your  digestive  powers  with  an  'appetizer.' 
To  get  along  in  the  day,  yon  are  invited  to  acccept  the 
assistance  of  a  'pony.'     If  you  are  startled  at  the  mention 
of  'a  drink,'  you  find  it  difficult  to  refuse  'at  least  a  nip.' 
And  who  but  the  most  morose— and  the  Irishman  is  all 
geniality— can   resist   the  influence   of    'a   smile?'      Now 
a    'cocktail,'    now  a    'cobler'— here    a    'julep,'    there    a 
'smasher;'    or  if    you   shrink   from   the   potency   of    the 
'Bourbon,'  you  surely  are  not  afraid  of  'a  single  glass  of 
lager  beer!'     To  the  generous,  company-loving  Irishman 
there  is  something  hke  treason  to  friendship  and  death  to 
good-feUowship  in  refusing  these  kindly-meant  invitations; 
but  woe  to  the  impulsive  Irishman  who  becomes  the  victim* 
of  this  custom  of  the  country!     The  Amerioans  drink,  the 
Germans  drink,  the  Scotch  drink,  the  Enghsh  drink— aU 
drink  with  more  or  less  injury  to  thpir  health  or  circum- 
stances; but  whatever  the  injury  to  these,  or  any  of  these, 
it  is  far  greater  to  the  mercurial  and  hght-hearted  Irish 
than  to  races  of  hard  head  and  lethargic  temperament. 
The  Irishman  is  by  nature  averse  to  solitary  or  selfish  in- 
dulgence—he will  not  'boose'  in  secret,  or  make  himself 
drunk  fi-om  a  mere  love  of  hquor  ;  with  him  the  indulgonc^e 
IS  the  more  fascinating  when  it  eil.nnces  the  pleasures  of 
fiuendship,  and  imparts  additional  s.est  to  the  charms  of 
fiocial  intercourse.     In  his  desire  to  gratify  his  friends,  and 


'■^•»» 


P!i! 


\ 


281 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEPaCA. 


'e»»^::S!ii 


stand  well  with  his  acquaintances,  he  is  toe  likely  to  over- 
look the  claims  of  those  at  home — the  wife  and  children, 
wlio  are  the  sufferers,  if  others  are  the  gainers  which  is 
very  questionable — from  his  generosity  and  his  geniality. 

It  must  be  admitted  that,  in  some  cities  of  America 
— by  no  means  in  all,  or  anything  like  all — the  Irish 
element  figures  unenviably  in  the  police  records,  and 
before  the  inferior  tribunals  ;  and  that  in  these  cities  the 
committals  are  more  numerous  than  they  should  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  Irish  population. 
This  is  undoubtedly  the  case  in  some  instances.  But, 
painful  as  this  fact  is  to  the  pride  of  those  who  love  and 
honour  their  country,  it  is  not  without  a  consolatory  fea- 
ture— namely,  the  character  of  the  offencefi  for  which  the 
Iridi  are  made  amenable  to  the  law.  These  offences  are 
irritating  to  the'  sensitiveness  of  the  orderly,  the  decorous, 
and  the  law-abiding  —  to  those  whose  position  in  life 
raises  them  above  the  region  in  which  such  offences  have 
their  origin — and  they  are  damaging  to  the  reputation  of 
those  by  whom  they  are  committed  ;  but  they  are  not  of 
a  heinous  nature — not  such  as  cause  a  shudder  to  the 
heart  and  a  chill  to  the  blood.  The  deadly  crimes — the 
secret  poisonings,  the  deliberate  murders,  the  deep-laid 
frauds,  the  cunningly-masked  treachery,  the  dark  villany, 
the  spider-like  preparation  for  the  destruction  of  the  un- 
wary victim — these  are  not  common  to  the  Irish.  Rows, 
riots,  turbulence,  acts  of  personal  violence  perpetrated  in 
passion,  are  what  are  principally  recorded  of  them  in  the 
newspapers  ;  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  these  offences 
against  the  peace  and  order  of  the  community,  and  w^hich 
so  deeply  prejudice  the  public  mind,  not  only  against  the 
perpetrators,  but,  what  is  far  worse,  against  the  irrace  and 
country,  are  attributable  to  one  cause,  and  one  cause  alone 
— drink.  The  American  may  drink  from  morning  to 
night  without  injury  to  his  country,  without  peril  to  his 
nationahty ;  the  German  may  snore  himself  into  insensi- 


ARCHBISHOP  SPALDING'S   TESTIMONV.  28S 

bility  in  ^  delngo  of  lager  beer,  without  doing  dishonour 
to  Faderland;   the  EngHshman   and  the  Scotchman  may 
indulge  to  exces8-as  both  do  indulge  to  excess-without 
comprounsmg    England    or    Scotland    thereby;    b„t    the 
Insbman,   moi-e    impulsive,   more    mercurial,   more    excit- 
able, will   pnbhsh   his    indiscretion  on  the  highway,  and 
«11  hnnself  identify  his  nationahty  with  his  folh.     We  e 
It  possible  to  induce  Irishmen,  if  not  to  abandon  drink  al- 
together, which  is  not  at  all  likefy  or  probable,  at  least  to 
bo  moderate  m  its  use,  the  result  would  be  a  blessed  one. 
It  were  unpossible  to  imagine   any  result  more   blessed 
more  glorious.     It  would  lift  up  the  Irish  race  in  America 

Z  Ti  .^  '■'  ,'"'"™'™'  P°™'-.  «"nply  because  Irishmen 
would  then  have  an  opportunity  of  exhil,iting,  without  flaw 
01  blemish,  those  quahties  which,  whenever  they  are 
.aUowed  fair  play,  excite  the  admu-ation  and  win  the  affec- 
tions oi  the  American  people. 

A  dozen  years  since,  whUe  the  Know  Nothing,  furv 
raged  through  the  country,  and  Irish  Catholics,  esiTecially 
uc  muUitudes  of  emigrants  who  were  then  pouring  into 
the  States  in  numbers  sufficient  to  infl.ame  the  jealousy  of 
certani  classes  of  Americans,  were  iiercefy  assailed  from 
pulpit,    press,    and    platform,    the    venerable  ArchbLshop 

fhet  •*!         ™'°*''  ^"  ""''""■  '°  *'''  "^"'^"^  """'•«  "S^i"^' 

But  (il  i  said)  the  Irish  emigrants  are  viciou,  and  immoral  That 
a  portion  of  thorn  hav„  li.eir  raiiUs-grievons  and  glarin-Tj  t,-w. 
do   not  deny;    but  all  firm  and  impartiai   men   will  ad^it    I  at  Z 

P  e,     b     'tl^l'  "■"  TT'  """  "^"■"'^  «--SS"«ted  by  the'pnblio 
press,   bnl    hoy  have  also  their  virtnes,  ivhich  are  studiously  kept  out 

1:'™     "■""  "■"'"  """  ''"'"' i   "'"  "'"•»  "»'   t>-  corL,    ndh. 

'      ,  ■,.?'°  I'»P"'»«»"  ""'"■  viees  also  .as  great,  if  not  ,. real.  ,• 

than  those  of  the  das,  whieh   is  now  singled  out  !,s  the  vie,  „t    o    a 

".■'"ous  pnblie  indignation !    They  have   thoir   viees,   but  Ih^se  are 

.^tlZJt'""  '"  """"•'"■''  **'^'"«'»  ■""'-"•"»■•    ^»-,.  Mu,,*, 


'iblfJ 


28G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


often  faults  of  the  head  more  than  of  the  heart;  of  imprudence  and 
ihoughllessness  more  than  of  deliberate  design  and  malice.  If  you 
look  for  the  accomplished  for<jer,  the  cold-blooded  midnhjhi  assassbi  or 
murderer,  the  man  who  goes  always  armed  with  the  destructive  bowie- 
knife  or  revolver,  ready  for  any  deed  of  blood,  you  will  in  general  have 
to  seek  elsewhere  than  among  the  class  of  Irish  emigrants  whom,  you  so 
fiercely  denounce. 

The  Irishman's  vices  are  generally  the  rcsxdl  of  intemperance,  or  cf 
the  sudden  heat  of  passion,  sometimes  aroused  by  outrages  upon  his 
country  or  religion;  he  is  easily  misled  by  evil  associates,  but  his  heart 
is  generally  in  the  right  place.  The  Irishman  has  no  concealment  in  his 
character;  what  he  is,  he  is  openly  and  before  the  world. 

Since  the  Arclibisliop  wrote,  eveilts  have  greatly  modi- 
fied the  feeUngs  then  entertained  towards  the  Irishman  and 
his  creed ;  but  the  enemy  of  the  Irishman's  own  creation, 
and  his  own  fostering,  is  as  rampant  and  as  deadly  as  ever. 

The  'liquor'  business'  is  most  pernicious,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  the  Irish.  Eequiring  little  capital,  at  least 
to  commence  with,  the  Irish  rush  into  it ;  and  the  temp- 
tation to  excess  which  it  offers  is  often  more  than  the 
virtiie  of  the  proprietor  of  the  business  can  withstand.  If 
the  evil  were  confined  to  the  individual  himself,  the  result 
would  be  ii  matter  of  comparatively  trifling  consequence : 
but  the  Irishman  attracts  the  Irishman  to  his  saloon  or  his 
bar,  and  so  the  evil  spreads.  Almost  invariably  the  lowest 
class  of  groggery  or  hquor-storc — that  which  supplies  the 
most  villanous  and  destructive  mixtures  to  its  unfortunate 
customers — is  planted  right  in  the  centre  of  the  densely- 
crowded  Irish  quarter  of  a  great  city  ;  while  too  often  the 
name  on  the  sign-board  acts  as  a  tatpl  lure  to  those  who 
quaff  ruin  or  death  in  the  maddening  bowl.  In  America, 
as  in  Ireland,  there  are  men  in  the  trade  who  are  a  credit 
to  their  country,  indeed  an  honour  to  humanity — generous, 
high-spirited,  charitable  and  religious,  who  are  foremost  in 
ever}^  good  work,  and  who  are  never  appealed  to  in  vain  in 
any  cause  of  public  usefulness  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
are  others  whose  connection  with  it  is  injurious  to  them- 


prudence  and 
\lice.  ]f  you 
t  assassbi  or 
ruclive  howie- 
i  general  have 
t  whom  you  so 

perance,  or  of 
xges  upon  his 
1,  but  his  heart 
oalmont  in  his 


eatly  modi- 
ishman  and 
n  creation, 
dly  as  ever, 
ler  directly 
ital,  at  least 
.  the  temp- 
3  than  the 
listand.  If 
',  the  result 
nsequence ; 
iloon  or  his 

the  lowest 
upplies  the 
Linfortunate 
tie  densely- 
)o  often  the 

those  who 
11  America, 
re  a  credit 
—generous, 
"oremost  in 
0  in  vain  iu 
hand,  there 
s  to  them- 


'i     i 


DRINK  AND  POLITICS.  287 

itTr  o7t/7f  "'1'  *^'^""    countrymen.      The    bad 
hquor  of  the  Native  American  or  the  Dutchman  is  far  less 
perilous  to  poor  Pat  than  what  is  sold  by  the  bar-keeper 
^^•lIose  name  has  in  it  a  flavour  of  the  shamrock.     A  feeling 
o    clanship.  If  not  a  spirit  of  nationahty,  operates' as  an 
additional    inducement   to    the    Irishman,    who    probably 
oquires  httle  mcentive  to  excess,  beyond  his  own  craving 
^JT'^T^    enjoyment    and    dangerous    excitement! 
Meie    too,  the   vorking  man  is  seduced  into   that  most 
tempting,   yet  most  fatal  of    all    moral  maelstroms-the 
Avhirlpoo  of  pothouse  pohtics,  in  whose  accursed  depths  of 
"uul  and  mire   many  a  bright  hope  has  been  wrecked 
many  a  soul  lost.     Here,  fascinated  by  the  coarse  Sirens  J 
J^rnil.   and  Politics-many  an  Irishman,  fitted  by  nature 
for  better  things,  has  first   become   a  tool,  then  a  slave 
then  a  victim  ;  helping  to  build  up  the  fortunes  of  some 
worthless   fellow    on    his    own    ruin,   and    sacrificing  the 
legitimate  gain  of  honest  industry  for  the  expectation  of 
some   paltry  office,  which,  miserable  at   best,  ever  eludes 
Ins  desperate  clutch.     It  requires  no  httle  moral  courao-e 
on  the  part  of  the  eager  and  impulsive  Irishman  to  avJld 
being  entangled  in  the  fatal  meshes  of  the  pothouse  and  its 
pohtics  ;  ye   if  he  has  the  good  fortune  to  resist  the  temp- 
tation, or   the   energy  to  break   through   the   toils,  he  i. 
amply  rewarded    in   his    safety    and    independence.     An 
aiihghtened  mterest  in  public  affixirs  becomes  the  freeman  • 
thankless    drudgery  and   inevitable    debasement   are   oni; 
worthy  of  the  willing  slave.  ^ 

Formerly  there  were  inducements  to  excess  which  either 
no  longer  exist,  or  do  not  exist  to  the  same  extent  as  they 
^lid.  The  principal  inducement  was  the  low  cost  of 
whisky  Even  of  the  best  quality,  it  was  so  cheap  as  to 
be  withm  the  means  of  the  poorest ;  while  whisky  of  an 
menov  and  therefore  more  deleterious  description,  was 
to  be  had  at  a  price  almost  nominal.  And  with  this 
poisonous  stuff-this  rot  to  the  entrails  and  devil  to  the 


Jf,1 


•I 

'*4 


f«*i 


268 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■r» 


I* 


brain — many  tlionsands  of  Irishmen  wore  delihoratcly  slain 
by  contractors  engaged  in  certain  public  works.  Tlio  Ruoner 
the  task  was  done  the  more  profit  to  the  contractor.  It  was 
a  free  country,  and  tlio  white  man  could  not  be  made  to 
work  against  liis  wiU ;  but  advantage  was  taken  of  his 
weakness,  and  with  red-hot  whisky  the  Uberal  contractor 
lashed  and  goaded  the  toiler  to  superhuman  efforts — before 
wliich  the  embankment  grew  up,  and  the  huge  earth- 
mound  vaiiished,  and  the  great  ditch  widened  ami  deep- 
ened, as  if  with  the  celerity  of  magic  ;  but  ere  that  work 
was  done — ere  the  train  rattled  along  the  iron  highway, 
the  boat  floated  in  the  canal,  or  the  ship  was  moored  in  the 
dock — there  were  widows  and  orphans  to  mourn  the 
victims  of  a  fatal  weakness,  and  the  reckless  greed  and 
wicked  crueltv  of  their  taskmasters. 

Instigated  by  the  devil  whisky,  the  oid  insane  and 
meaningless  jealousies  Vjroke  out — not  the  Catholic  against 
the  Protestant — not  the  Green  against  the  Orange ;  but 
Munster  against  Connaught,  and  Connemara  against  Cork. 
And  out  of  these  shameful  feuds  sprang  riots,  and  blood- 
shed, and  murder,  as  well  as  deep  national  scandal.  The 
Catholic  Church  spared  no  exertions  to  avert  this  evil,  and 
put  an  end  to  a  cause  of  such  just  reproach  ;  but  tnough 
immense  good  was  done,  and  much  evil  prevented,  the 
active  devil  was  at  times  too  potent  for  its  mild  authority. 
Hai)inly,  these  are  things  of  the  past,  which  must  yet 
be  remembered  with  a  blush  of  sorrow  and  of  shame. 

If,  even  still,  there  is  much  to  deplore,  there  is  more  to 
rejoice  at.  Not  only  are  the  vast  majority  of  Irishmen  in 
all  parts  of  America  as  sober  and  temperate  in  their  habits 
as  any  men  to  be  found  in  any  community  or  country,  but 
in  many  parts  of  the  United  States  the  Irish  enjoy  the 
reputation  of  being  among  the  best,  the  most  orderly,  and 
the  most  sober  portion  of  the  populaiion.  And  where  this 
happy  state  of  things  exists,  the  Irish  of  the  Avorking-classcs 
arc  sure  to  possess  property^,  to  have  their  'house  and  lot, 


TKMPEIIANCE  ORGANISATION. 


280 


iboratcly  slain 
i.  Tlio  sooner 
actor.  It  was 
i  be  made  to 
taken  of  his 
al  contractor 
fforts — before 
hw^Q  earth- 
ed ojid  deep- 
3re  that  work 
ron  highway, 
Qoored  in  the 
»  mourn  the 
ss  greed  and 

.  insane  and 
bhohc  against 
Orange ;  but 
against  Cork, 
s,  and  blood- 
3andal.  The 
this  evil,  and 
;  but  tliough 
revented,  the 
ild  authority, 
ch  must  yet 
shame. 
3re  is  more  to 
:  Irishmen  in 
n  their  habits 
■  country,  but 
sh  enjoy  the 
orderly,  and 
id  where  this 
)rking-classcs 
;use  and  lot, 


and  to  1)0  fnigal,  thrifty,  and  saving.  Nor,  ns  I  can  testify, 
are  the  Irish  without  meeting  with  ready  and  generous 
appreciation  from  Americans  of  long  descent.  'The  Irish 
here,  sir,  are  amongst  our  best  citizens;  they  are  s()l)er 
and  industrious,  moral,  orderly,  and  law-abiding— sir,  they 
are  a  credit  to  their  native  country.'  This  testimony  I 
was  proud  to  hear  in  various  States.  But,  unhappily,  in 
some  of  the  largo  cities,  the  evil  habit  of  the  minority 
casts  a  certain  amount  of  discredit,  however  unjustly,  on 
their  Irish  populations. 

In  every  largo  city  and  in  most  of  the  considerable  towns 
of  America  there  is  a  temperance  organisation,  which  o£fers 
the  usual  advantages  to  those  who  belong  to  it.     On  Mon- 
day, March  18th,  I  had  an  admirable  opportunity  of  wit- 
nessing the  display  made   by  the  temperance  societies  of 
New  York ;  and  rarely  did  I  behold  a  spectacle  which  was 
in    itself   so    cheering  and  consolatory,  or  of  which  I  felt 
more  truly  proud.     In  the  hey-day  of  the  temperance  move- 
ment in  Ireland  I  had  more  thjin  once  seen  processions 
quite  as  brilliant  and  imposing,  after  their  fashion,  as  that 
which  I  scanned  with  eager  scrutiny  in  New  York.     There 
was  therefore  nothing  novel  in  the  display,  whether  in  its 
banners,  its  decorations,  its  music,  or  even  its  numbers. 
What  did  delight  me— what  I  know  dehghted  others,  who, 
hke  myself,  had  a  national  interest  in  the  festival  of  the 
day— was  to  witness  so  large  a  body  of  Irishmen,  and  the 
children  of  Irishmen,  presenting  in  the  face  of  the  Ameri 
can  people  a  striking  and  beneficial  example  of  courage 
and  good  sense  to  their  own  race ;    in  a  city,  too,  which 
probably  has  within  it  more  of  risk  and  danger  to  sobriety 
than  any  other  city  in  the  States.     Their  dress  was  admir- 
able, even  conspicuous  where  rospectabihty  of  attire  was 
tlie  rule ;  and  there  was  that  in  their  air  and  manner  and 
carriage    which    elicited  universal  admiration,  and  deeply, 
gratified  the  Irishmen— many  of   them  the  most  eminent 
m  the  city— by  whom,  on  that  occasion,  I  happened  to  be 

18 


':^ 

■  1:4(1 

'-.4  ' 


1 


3 


%^ 


290 


TUB  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ti. 


n. 


surrouiulotl.  In  that  onormous  proceflsion,  roii^rhly  e«ti. 
iiuitcil,  at  30,000  persons,  men  and  hoyn,  thero  ^voio 
ihousaiuls  of  Hol)(3r  sclf-rcHiJCctinfr  men  who  wore  not 
members  of  a  temperance  or<ranisation— not  •  teetotaHerH  :' 
but  there  were  alwo,  I  must  admit,  not  a  few  who  (lisphiyed 
in  tlieir  maunvleriii<,'  hjolcH  and  totterin^r  f<iiit  an  over-zealouH 
devotion  to  the  Patron  Saint  of  their  native  land. 

I  was  mueh  amused  at  receiving  a  letter  from  an  inihi- 
ential  member  of  one  of  the  most  prosperous  of  the 
temperance  societies  of  New  York,  in  which  the  writer 
proudly  claimed  for  his  body  prominent  distinction,  on 
these  very  cogent  grounds— that  not  only  had  they  a  con- 
siderable number  of  members  belonging  to  their  society, 
but  that  their  members  owned  more  property,  had  more 
money  in  the  bank  and  in  profitable  investments  ;  had 
built  more  houses,  and  of  a  superior  description;  had 
educated  their  children  bettor,  and  advanced  them 'more 
successfully  in  life,  and  held  a  higher  social  position,  than 
the  members  of  any  other  society  in  Now  York  ;  though 
the  writer  had  no  notion  of  disparaging  any  of  them  what- 
ever. Here  was  a  volume  of  sermons  embodied  in  these 
few  words  ;  and  being  the  words  of  a  good  Irishman,  I 
commend  them  to  his  countrymen  wherever  they  may  be. 

I  was  thus  addressed  in  a  Western  city  by  an  Irishman 
who  ic  himself  a  credit  to  his  country.  Upright,  intelli 
gent,  and  self-respecting,  he  is  one  of  those  men,  of 
whom  there  are  thousands  in  America,  who  would  not 
compromise  the  national  honour  in  his  own  pers'.n  for 
any  earthly  consideration.     He  said  : 

*I  have  one  request  to  make  of  you,  and  I  am  ouu.iin 
you  will  comply  with  my  humble  but  earnest  prayer  :  and 
that  is,  to  place  before  the  eyes  of  the  poor  intending 
emigrant,  as  of  those  who  have  their  interest  at  heart,  and 
whose  advice  is  liLel/  to  be  taken  by  our  people,  iheierrililo 
dangers  of  int«  mj;:  •  a-ice  in  this  country.  Implore  of  them, 
in  the  name  of  everything  pure  and  lovely  in  Heaven  nnd 


HOPE  IN  THE  FUTURE. 


m 


ON  ear  h    to  make  up  thoir  minds,  aa  good  ChriHiian..  to 
oavc  oil  the  UHO  of  intoxicating  drinlus  before  startinff  f„r 
n.  country-otherwiHo  they  are  not  wanted  here.      Let 
thuu   8tay  at  home,  where,  oven  if  of  diHsipatcd  hahits 
tioy  can  meet  some  j^ood  Samaritan  who  wiU  extend  to 
them  the  hand  of  friendHliip  in  distress  ;  for  liere  the  man 
liic  ined  to  drink  wiU  meet  with  nothing,  but  bad  wlnsky 
and  a  paupers  grave,  and  not  one   to   say  ««Lord  have 
mercy  upon  hnnl"     This  is  my  request  of  you,  and  I  make 
itm  th,.  mlorest  of  our  common  country,  because  I  have 
too  good  reason  to  know  that  drink  is  tho  bane  of  our 
pooplp/ 

With  the  influence  of  sound  rehgious  teaching,  whose 
tendency  leads  to  self-government  and  control-tho  influ- 
ence  of    the    Church,   which  is   every  day   drawing    her 
children  more  within  the  reach  of  her  salutary  authority- 
the  mfluence  of  organisations  through  which  even  the  de- 
«pan-ing  outcast  may  learn  a  lesson  of  hope,  of  moral  and 
social  redemption,_with  these  influences  steadily  acting  on 
the  Irish  in  America,  we  may  look  with  confidence  to  the 
wiping  away  of  a  reproach  which  is  due  to  the  folly  and 
madness  of  the  few  .ather  than  of  the  many  ;  as  also  to  the 
moval  rom  the  path  of  the  Irishman  of  one  of  the  most 
fatal  obstacles  to  his  advancement  in  a  country  for  which 
he  IS  eminent^  suited  by  quahties  that,  if  not  mari^d  or 
perverted  by  this  one  terrible  vice,  must  lead  him  to  suc- 
^r  prlvat?'"^  ^"^^  '"^  ciepartment  of  Hfo,  whether  public 


292 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHIPTER  XV. 


Poor  Irish  Gentility— Honest  labour— The  MiUe  'a  son— Well- 
earned  Success— No  poor  Irish  Gentility  here— A  Sfslf-nmdo  Man 
—Ihm  bo  became  a  blaster  Baker— The  Irish  doirt  do  them- 
selves Justice— How  they  are  regarded- Scotch  Irish. 

THERE  is  another  evil  wliicli  overtakes  Irishmen  of  a 
certain  class  in  the  new  world ;   it  may  be  called  the 
Micauber  evil — 'waiting  for  something  to  turn  up.'     The 
delay  of  a  week  may  be  the  destruction  of  the  young  man 
who  comes  out  to  America  with  the  highest  hopes  of  doing 
something,  he  knows  not  what,  and  getting  on,  he  knows 
not  how.     In  mere  delay  there  is  danger  quite  sufficient ; 
but  woe  to  him  if  he  bring  with  him  the  faded  gentility  of 
poor  Ireland  to  a  country  utterly  without  sympathy  for  such 
threadbare  nonsense.     The  Irishman  who  brings  with  him 
across  the  ocean  this  miserable  weakness  travels  with  the 
worst   possible  compagnon  de  voyage.      In   America   there 
is  no  disgrace  in  honest  labour.     It  was  labour  that  made 
America  what  she  is  ;  it  is  labour  that  will  make  her  what 
she  is  destined  to  be— the  mightiest  power  of  the  earth. 
But  that  pestilent  Irish  gentility,  which  has  never  appre- 
ciated, perhaps  never  could  appreciate,  this  grand  truth  ; 
that  Irish  gentility,  the   poorest  and  proudest,  the  most 
sensiti-3  and  the  most  shamefaced,  of  all  such  wretched 
shams— that  weakness  of  indigenous  growth  has  brought 
many  a  young  Irishman   to  gi-ief  and   shame.     Advised, 
by   those   who    knew   America    well,    to    Hake    any  tiling' 


or 


to    'do   anything'   that    offered,    poor    Irish  'gentiUty 


could  not   stoop   to   employment   against  which    its 


liigli 


els  with  the 


HONEST  LABOUR  293 

stomached  pride  revolted-poor  Irish  gentihtj  was  'never 
used  to  that  kind  of  thing  at  home ; '  so  poor  Irish  gentil- 
ity wandered  hopelessly  about,  looking  in  vain  for  what 
would  suit  its  notions  of  respectability ;  until  poor  Irish 
-ontihty  found  itself  with  linen  soiled,  hat  battered,  clothes 
soedy,  boots  unreliable,  and   spirits  depressed-so  down 
fatally  down,  poor  Irish  gentihty  sank,  until  there  was  not 
strength  or  energy  to  accept  the  work  that  offered ;  and 
poor  Irish  gentihty  faded  away  in  some  dismal  garret  or 
foul  cellar,  and  dropped  altogether  out  ^f  sight,  into  the 
last  receptacle  of  poor  gentihties— the  grave  of  a  paupor     I 
heard  a  good  Irish  lady  describe  an  awful  tragedy  of  th^'s 
nature  ;  and  as  she  told  the  melancholy  tale,  her  face  -rew 
pale  at  it«  remembrance.     Called  too  late  to  save  one^who 
had  been  her  friend  in  youth,  she  was  in  time  to  close  her 
eyes  as  she  lay  in  her  last  mortal  agony  on  the  bare  floor 
of  a  back  room  in  a  tenement  house  in  New  York.     Meek 
gentle,  weU-educated  and  accomplished,  the  poor  exile  who 
thus  died  on  that  bare  floor,  with  scarcely  sufficient  rags  to 
hide  her  wasted  limbs,  was  the  victim  of  the  husband's 
false  pride  and  morbid  sensitiveness— of  his  poor  Irish  gen- 
tility.    Through  every  stage  of  the  downward  process  he 
rapidly  passed,  dragging  down  with  him  his  tenderly  nur- 
tured wife,  until  the  sad  ending  was  that  death  of  huno-er 
on  those  naked  boards.  •  ^ 

There  must  be  no  hesitation,  no  pause,  in  a  country  in 
which  there  is  no  hesitation,  no  pause,  no  rest— whose  "life 
IS  movement,  whose  law  is  progress.  The  golden  rule  to 
be  observed  by  the  new-comer  is  to  accept  any  employ- 
ment that  offers,  and  refuse  nothing  that  is  honest  and  not 
luorally  degrading  :  and  from  the  lowest,  the  humblest,  the 
poorest  positions,  any  commonly  weU-cducated  man  can 
rise  if  he  only  determine  to  do  so.  Many  of  the  greatest, 
highest,  proudest  men  in  America  have  risen  fi-om  the  axe 
and  th'^  -—I--     i?- —  ■!  '  -  -  - 


e  spade— from  labour  of  one  kind  or  ot^her  ;  and 


'»*s* 


■■■■fl 
.1 


the  estimation  of  every  honourable  mind    th 


111 


oy   arc   the 


294 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•f?-. 


greater,   the  higher,   and  the  prouder,   because   of    theii 
having  done  so.     Americans  teach  many  useful  lessons  to 
the  nations  of  the  Old  World.     Progress  is  not  the  only 
principle   happily   illustrated  by  them;    'recuperation'  is 
even  better  understood.     If  an  American  fail  in  business, 
his  failure  is  no  obstacle  to  his  'trying  again;'  as  if  a  man 
happen   to  fall  in  the  street,  there  is   no  reason  why  he 
should  not  pick  himself  up,  rub  the  dust  or  mud  fi-om  his 
clothes,  and  continue  on  his  way.     The  American  may  fail 
once,  or  twice,  or, even  thrice;  but  he  does  not  therefore 
sit  down  in  despair— with  him,  as  long  as  there  is  life  there 
IS  hope.     It  might  be  curious  to  speculate  how  many  emi- 
nent merchants,  now  millionaires,  or  on  the  high  road  to 
that  goal  of  the  business  man's  ambition,  owe  their  present 
position  to  the  'never  say  die  '  poKcy— who,  so  long  as  they 
had  brains  or  health,  would  not  give  in.     To  '  begin  again ' 
is  not  the  same  desperate  thing  in  America  that  it  is  in 
England  or  Ireland;  simply  because  so  many  men  have 
begun  at  the  lowest,  are   beginning  at   the  lowest,  must 
begin  at  the  lowest;  and  there  is  no  shame  attaching  to 
the  lowest  in  a  country  where  honest  labour— toil  in  the 
sweat  of  the  brow — is  honourable,  not  degrading,     To  our 
mind,  there  is  something  more  than  healthful  and  hopeful 
in  this  policy— it  is  manly  and  noble.     Poor  Irish  gentiUty 
cannot  comprehend,  or  will  not  acce^it  it ;  but  Irish  pluck 
and  energy  will.     Of  this  Irish  pl^ck  and  energy  I  could 
give  many  illustrations ;  but  I  must   content  myself  with 
a  few. 

I  had  not  been  long  in  the  States  when,  in  a  Western 
city,  I  met  the  subject  of  the  following  true  tale. 

There  landed  on  the  levee  of  New  Orleans  on  the  2Gtli 
of  January,  1854,  a  well-built,  bright-looking,  high- 
spirited  young  Irishman,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  a 
town  in  the  county  Eoscommon.  The  son  of  a  miller,  he 
had  received  that  ordinary  kind  of  education  which  left 
much  to  be  done  by  the  pupil  in  after  life.     Save  health, 


J 


SG  of  theii 
1  lessons  to 
ot  the  only 
peration '  is 
in  business, 
as  if  a  man 
son  why  he 
id  fi-om  his 
an  may  fail 
)t  therefore 
is  life  there 

many  emi- 
gh  road  to 
leir  present 
Dng  as  they 
egin  again ' 
lat  it  is  in 

men  have 
west,  must 
btaching  to 
-toil  in  the 
?,  To  our 
nd  hopeful 
ih  gentiUty 
Irish  pluck 
^y  I  could 
lyself  with 

a  Western 

1  the  26th 
ng,  high- 
[lood  of  a 
miller,  he 
which  left 
ive  health, 


THE  MILLER'S  SON.  295 

strength  and  a  fixed  resolution  to  push  his  way  in  the 
world,  the  son  of  the  Irish  miller  had  nothing  when  he 
stood   on   the   banks   of  the   mi.  .ty  Mississippi.     Young 

U  B did  not  lose   much  time,  or  wear  out  his   boot- 

leather,    m    hunting   after   employment    that   would    har- 
monise with  his  notions  of  Irish  gentihty-for  the  simple 
reason  that  he  had  not  brought  such  a   commodity  with 
him  from  Roscommon.     Like  a  sensible  young  Irishman. 
A^-ho  had  the  world  before  him,  he  took  the  first  work  that 
offered.     With  the  savings  of  a  few  weeks'  labour  in  his 
pocket  he  paid  his  passage  to  St.  Louis.     Work  was  scarce 
m  tliat  city  at  the  moment,  so  he  determined  not  to  lose  his 
tune  there,  but  push  on.     From  St.  Louis  he  proceeded  to 
the  city  in  which  he  hoped  to  find  something  to  do ;  and  as 
he  left  the  steamer,  in  which  he  had  taken  a  deck  passage 
his  entire  fortune  consisted  of  three  silver  doUars      Fail- 
ing to  find  work  of  any  kind  in  this  city,  he  resolved  to 
try  what  he  could  make  of  the  country;  for  being  a  sober 
lad,  and  having  his  bright  Irish  wits  about  him,  he  deter- 
mined that  he   should  not   'hang   about  the   town'     He 
went  some  eight  or  ten  miles  into  the  country,  and  found 
work  as  a  farm  hand.     For  six  weeks  he  honestly  did  his 
best  to  earn  his  pay;   but  his  hands  becoming  sore  from 
the  labour,  he  was  forced  to  give  in.     Returning   to   the 
own,  the  Roscommon  lad  was  employed  by  the  principal 
hotel  of  the  place  to  bring  water  to  the  stable  with  a  horse 
and  cart.     At  this  humble  employment  he  was  engao-ed, 
when,  happening  to  see  a  small  man  set  upon  by  a  groat 
savage  he  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  former,  and  prostrated 
the  Gohath.     The  Goliath  was  treacherous  as  well  as  brutal  - 
and  rushing  into  his  house,  which  was  near  at  hand   he 
possessed  himself  of  a  sharp  weapon,  with  which  he  stabbed 
the  young  Irishman,   of  whom   he   very  nearly  made   an 

end.     For  six  months  of  pain  and  weariness  poor  O'B 

was  unable   to  earn   a   doUar.     But  ho  had  brought  with 
Inm  from  Roscommon  a  splendid  constitution,  and  'fine 


296 


THE  IRISH  IN  A^rERICA. 


healing'  flesli.'  When  ho  was  on  his  legji  again  he  was 
taken  into  the  office  of  t'  notel,  a  position  for  which  his 
intolHgence  suited  him.     ^'  .e  place  was  a  very  good  one,  as 

a  stej)ping-stone  to  bomething  better ;  and  when  O'B 

quitted  it,  which  he  did  in  twenty  months,  it  was  with 
900  dollars  in  his  pocket,  having  saved  every  cent  that  he 
could  possibly  lay  by.  To  be  a  lawyer  was  his  ambition ; 
and  he  was  bright,  and  quick,  and  clear,  with  a  fervent 
tongue,  and  a  good  tough  brain  withal.  For  two  years 
and  three  months  he  studied  hard  at  the  desk  and  in  the 
courts,  and  was  then  admitted  into  the  profession  after  a 
creditable  examination.  He  then  practised  with  an  emi- 
nent lawyer  in  the  great  city  in  which  he  had  studied ; 
and  with  the  same  eminent  lawyer  he  remained  until  the 
summer  of  1860.  Then  he  turned  his  face  once  more  to 
the  smaller  city  in  which  he  had  humbly  toiled  and  faith- 
fully served ;  and  here  he  determined  to  set  up  as  an 
attorney  and  counsellor.  .  His  wealth  was  then  all  in  the 
brain  and  the  will,  and  his  exchequer  was  low  indeed. 
He  contrived,  however,  to  .  get  an  office,  the  furniture  of 
which  consisted  of  a  small  table  and  a  single  chair — in- 
tended for  the  joint  yet  separate  use  of  client  and  of 
counsel ;  while  the  library  was  comprehended  in  a  single 
volume  of  the  statutes,  'loaned'  to  him  by  a  friend.  It 
was  not  a  very  splendid  beginning,  nor  was  his  office  a 
palace  of  luxury ;  but  there  was  the  right  stuff  in  the 
young  practitioner.  His  first  case  was  remarkable,  not  so 
much  from  its  being,  what  it  was,  a  bad  one — a  'hard 
case ' — or  for  its  success,  as  for  an  incident  with  which  it 
was  attended.  The  opposing  counsel,  who  knew  the  his- 
tory of  his  'learned  friend,'  finding  his  young  antagonist 
pushing  him  to  the  wall,  and  losing  temper,  had  the  good 
taste  and  delicacy  to  suggest  that  his  'learned  fiiend'  was 
more  conversant  with  the  manipulation  of  a  trunk  or 
portmanteau  than  with  the  handling  of  a  legal  argument ; 
to  which  taunt  the  young  Irishman  replied  in  a  manner 


n   he  was 

which  hi« 
od  one,  as 
1  O'B 

was  with 
it  that  he 
ambition ; 

a  fervent 
two  years 
and  in  the 
on  after  a 
h  an  emi- 
i  studied ; 
.  until  the 
e  more  to 
and  faith- 
up   as   an 

all  in  the 
w  indeed, 
irniture  of 
chair — in- 
at  and  of 
n  a  single 
friend.  It 
is  office  a 
Liff  in  the 
ble,  not  so 
— a  'hard 
h.  which  it 
w  the  his- 
antagonist 
i  the  good 
riend'  was 

trunk  or 
[irgument ; 

a  manner 


WELL-EARNED  SUCCESS.  297 

at  once  playful  and  emphatic-namoly,  by  hurling  a  great 
glass  inkstand   right    in  the   face   of    his    'learned  friend 
down  whose  obscured  features  a  copious   stream  of   ink' 
artistically  blended    with    a   rosier    hue,   rolled    and  lo^^t 
Itself  m  the  full  bosom  of  a  shirt  which  a  second  b  foro 
had  shone  with  dazzhng  lustre.     It  is  not  given  to  every 
man  to  make  a  sensation  in  court  ;  but  the  effect  of  this 
coup  was   eminently  successful.     The  judge,   representing 
the  majesty  of    the   Law,    which    affected    to    be   deeply 
offended  and  seriously  outraged,  solemnly  imposed  a  fine 
of  fa  ty  dollars  ;    which  fine  was  less   solemnly  remitted. 
The  tide  of  fortune  began  to  set  in ;  and  in  few  days  after 
his  double  success,  alike  of  ink-bottle  and  argument,  the 
rising  lawyer  had  the  courage  to  go  in  debt  for  four  chairs 
and  to  have  Ins  office  washed  out  on  credit.      But  in  five 
years  after  the  delivery  of  the  retort  courteous  referred  to 

O  B- received  an  absolute  fee  of  1,000  dollars  for  the 

conduct  of  an  important  ca^e,  and  a  conditioned  fee  of 
0,000  doUars-in  other  words,  one  thousand  dollars  win  or 
lose,  and  five  thousand  in  case  he  won ;  and  he  did  win 
-that  is,  he  got  a  young  gentleman  of  good  family  safely 
through  a  httle  scrape  which  might  have  had  a  fatal  ter- 
mination^ The  four  chairs,  long  since  paid  for,  are  still 
m  the  office;  and  the  loaned  copy  of  the  statutes,  after- 
wai-cls  presented  as  a  tribute  of  admiration,  expanded  into 
a  library  that  is  fast  encroaching  on  the  last  few  unoc- 
cupied feet  of  wall.      In  18G2  and  in  18G3  O'B was 

member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  at  the  election  for 
Congress  previous  to  the  time  i  met  him,  he  was  a  candi- 
date  on  the  Democratic  ticket.      There  is  no  mystery  no 

disguise  about  O'B or  his  career;  for  at  the  State  Con^ 

vention  the  gentleman-a  State  Senator-who  nominated 
nm,  made  the  leading  facts  which  I  have  now  narrated 
the  be.st  claim  t.,  tlio  sympathy  and  respect  of  his  audi^' 
ence,  who,  like  the  subject  of  his  euloginm,  were,  most  of 
them   at   least,   self-made    men.      I  have   seen   O'B 's 


298 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


home  library,  and  I  can  answer  that  not  only  is  it  choice 
and  comprehensive,  but  that  it  is  well  employed  by  tlie 
successful  lawyer,  who,  when  a  lad  of  twenty,  worked  man- 
fully on  the  levee  of  New  Orleans.  Possibly  tlie  moral 
of  the  story  might  be  found  in  these  words,  which  I  heard 
him  use — 'Thank  Heaven!  I  never  was  drunk  in  my  life.' 

One  evening  in  a  great  Eastern  city  I  met  in  social  in- 
tercourse some  five-and-twenty  or  thirty  Irishmen  from 
all  parts  of  Ireland,  every  one  of  whom  was  either  pro- 
gressing, prosperous,  or  rich  :  and  all,  without  an  exception, 
owed  everything  they  possessed  to  their  own  energy  and 
good  conduct.  During*-  the  evening  a  scrap  of  paper  was 
handled  to  me,  on  which  was  written  the  words — '  There 
are  more  than  four  millions  and  a  half  of  dollars  repre- 
sented at  this  table — all  made  by  the  men  themselves,  and 
most  of  it  within  a  few  years.'  The  Irishman  who  sat 
next  to  me  was  the  possessor  of  a  tweKtli  of  the  v/hole. 
He  had  not  been  more  than  sixteen  years  in  the  country, 
and  until  some  years  after  he  landed  in  America  he  had 
no  connection  whatever  with  mercantile  affairs.  A  few  dol- 
lars and  the  clothes  in  which  he  stood — such  was  his  capi- 
tal. He  had  no  poor  Irish  gentility  to  embarrass  him; 
and  at  the  head  of  a  dray-horse  he  might  be  seen  soon 
after  his  arrival,  his  frock-coat  not  altogether  suited  to  his 
rough  employment,  and  hjs  boots  fatally  damaged  in  sole 
and  upper.  But  in  a  short  time  he  made  and  saved 
money,  and  he  went  from  one  thing  to  another,  mounting- 
step  after  step  of  the  commercial  ladder ;  until  he  now  is 
partner  in  one  of  the  finest  concerns  of  the  city,  and 
enjoys  the  higheot  repute  for  probity  and  enterprise.  At 
the  same  table  sat  one  who,  a  native  of  my  own  city,  liad 
been  earning  at  home  four  shillings  a  week — eightpence  a 
day — at  a  certain  employment,  but  who  was  then  the 
owner  of  a  prosperous  establishment,  in  which  several 
hundreds  were  profitably  employed.  Intelligence,  sheer  in- 
dustry, and  good  conduct, — these  the  secret  of  his  success 


NO  POOR  IRISH  GENTILITY  HERE. 


299 


In  the  same  city  I  know  an  Irishman  who  holds  peiluipa 
as  ijrominent   and  responsible    a    position    as    any    man 
within  its  walls,  he  having  the  management  of  one  of  the 
most  splendid  concerns  in  America.     He  had  a   situation 
in  Ireland  of   some  100/.   a  year  on  a  pu})lic  work;    but 
being  a  young  man  of   good  education,  clear  brain,  lunl 
magnificent  health,   he   thought  he    could    do    better    iii 
America.     There   was   not   a  bit   of  false   gentihty   about 
him,  yet  he  sought  to  procure  a  situation  at  least  as  re- 
spectable as  that  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed ;   but 
the  moment  the  last  sovereign   was   turned   into   dollars, 
and  the  dollars  were  rapidly  vanishing,  he  determined  ho 
would  not  be  idle  a  day  longer.     *  I  saw,'  he  said,  '  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  work,  and  I  wvas  resolved  to   take 
anything  that  offered,  I  didn't  care  what.     I  spent  a  por- 
tion of  the  morning  knocking  about  here  and  there,  trying 
to  get  such  employment   as  I   would   prefer;   but  it  was 
not  to  be  had.     I  was  too  lat»,  or  they  didn't  want  me. 
'  Come,'  said  I  to  myself,  '  there  must  be  an  end  of  this  kind 
of  thing ;  the  way  to  get  along  is  to  begin  with  something, 
so  I  turned  into  the  first  livery-stable  I  came  to,  and  asked 
the  owner  did  he  require  a  hand  to  rub  down  his  horses : 
he  said  he  did,  and  that  he  would  willingly  employ  me. 
'All  right,'  said  I;    'so  I  stripped  off  my  coat,  turned  up 
my  sleeves,  and  set  to  work.     And  I  assure  you  I  slept 
well  that  night.     I  was  not  long  there,  having  soon  found 
what  suited  me  better— and  here  I  am  now,  thank  God.' 

As  I  was  leaving  a  city  '  down  South  '  I  was  accompanied 
some  way  in  the  '  cars  '  by  a  number  of  my  countrymen 
—every  man  of  them  prosperous,  respectable,  and  'self- 
made.'  Near  me  was  a  gentlemen  rather  advanced  in 
years,  of  the  kindest  expression,  the  softest  voice,  and  eyes 
mildly  beaming  through  a  pair  of  gold-rimmed  glasses. 
A  thorough  American,  he  was  no  loss  a  devoted  Irishman. 
I  >vas  speaking  of  the  chmate,  and  its    -ftect  on  the  con- 


'<^ 


9 

3 


.-4 


stitution  and  health  of  o 


"-1-^ 
^t'* 


when 


ho  said,   iu   his 


300 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Boft   voice — *My   dear    sir,    it    all    depends    on    a    man's 


rt. 


dcnce 


The   climate 


di 


pruilcnce  or  iniprudoncc. 
tlioHo  who  arc  foolish — who  drink  to  excess.  Any  climate 
would  be  injurious  to  them;  but  this  climate,  though 
nnich  talked  against,  is  not  dangerous  to  the  sober  man. 
My  dear  sir,  there  is  an  instance  of  it  in  my  own  person 
—I  worked  on  a  canal  for  three  years,  often  up  to  my 
waist  in  water — ' 

'  You,  sir  I '  I  could  not  help  exclaiming. 

'Yes,  my  dear  sir'— his  eyes  mildly  beaming  at  me 
through  the  gold-rimmed  glasses,  and  his  voice  catching  a 
softer  intonation— '  Yes,  my  dear  sir,  I  was  often  up  to 
my  hips  in  water ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  I  had  my 
health  perfectly,  and  a  considerable  sum  saved — quite 
enough  to  begin  with.  I  kept  my  health,  because  I  never 
drank — Avliilo  hundreds  of  our  countrymen  Avere  literally 
dyhig  around  mo,  I  may  say  withering  in  my  sight,  all 
the  result  of  their  own  folly.  Poor  fellows !  the  tempta- 
tion was  great,  and  the  whisky  was  to  be  had  for  next  to 
nothing.' 

'But,'  I  said,  'you  surely  had  not  been  used  to  rough 
work  of  that  kind  ? ' 

'Yery  true,  my  dear  sir;  but  w^hat  was  I  to  do?  I 
knew  I  had  come  to  a  country  in  which  no  man — no 
stranger  certainly— could  be  idle  without  great  injury  to 
himself  ;  and  as  I  had  no  immediate  opportunity  of  getting 
such  employment  as  I  myself  would  have  preferred,  and 
was  accustomed  to,  why,  my  dear  sir,  I  took  that  which 
oifered.     And,  on  the  whole,  I  am  not  sorry  for  it.' 

My  friend  then  branched  off  into  the  adaptabihty  of 
man  to  various  cHmates;  and,  taking  a  wide  and  rather 
comprehensive  range  of  inquiry,  he  hurried  mp  through 
several  countries  of  the  world,  at  the  same  time  broaching 
a  number  of  plausible  theories,  evidently  favourites  of  his. 
As  I  grasped  his  honest  hand,  and  felt  the  mild  hght  of 
those  kindly  eyes  beaming  at  me  through  the  gold-rimmetl 


A  SELF-MADE  MAN. 


301 


spectacles,  I  pictured  to  myself  that  man  of  soft  voice  and 
ciiltivatod  mind,  working  up  to  bis  hips  in  mud  and  slush, 
and  the  Southern  sun  raining  its  fierce  fire  on  his  head! 
But  there  he  was,  not  a  bit  the  worse  for  his  hard  work-! 
on  the  contrary,  both  personally  and  philosophicaUy  proud 
of  what  he  had  gone  through. 

Two  instances  of  energy  and  determination  must  close  a 
hst  which  could  be  added  to  any  extent. 

A  great  strai^ping  Irishman— who  would  be   called  at 
home    'a   splendid    figure   of    a  man '—landed  at  Castlo 
Garden  about  fifteen  years  since.     He  neither  knew  how 
to  write  nor  read,  but  he  was  gifted  with  abundant  natural 
quickness,  and  he  was  fuU  of  energy  and  ambition.     Work 
he  came  for,  and  work  he  got-that  of  a  labourer.     He 
was  as  strong  as  a  horse,  but  he  had  not  much  experience 
ni  the  management  of  a  hod  ;  and  some  of  the  old  hands 
including  one  who  was  inchned  to  be  specially  offensive,' 
sneered  at  the  new-comer  as  a  'green-horn.'     The  leader 
of  the   old  hands  was  a   strong,   burly  feUow,  not  bad- 
natured,   but   inchned  to  bully  the   stranger.      Now  the 
stranger  was  not  one  of  those  who  liked  to  be  bulhed  •  so 
the  moment  he  was  made  fully  aware  of  the  meaning  'and 
mtent  of  the  offensive  phrase,  he  fairly  challenged,  and  in 
smgle  combat  manfully  vanquished,  his  ill-advised  assail- 
^^*-     -  '    "^  moment  he  lost  the  verdant  tinge  which 

he  first  \>.  so  fa:-  this  was  serviceable  ;  but  he  was  not 

content  wit  p^or  a  triumph.  He  saw  other  men— dull 
plodders,  with  'not  half  his  own  gumption,' pushing  their 
way  up  the  social  ladder  ;  and  why  ?  Because  they  could 
read  and  write,-because  they  had  'the  learning,'  which 
alas !  he  had  Lot.  But  it  was  not  because  he  had  it  not 
at  that  moment,  that  he  could  not  have  it  some  time  or 
other.  Then  he  would  have  it ;  that  he  was  resolved  on 
bo  the  large  Irishman— who  seemed  big  enough  to  swallow 
master  and  pupils  at  a  meal— sat  down  on  a  form  in  a 
night  school,  and  commenced  to  learn  his  a,  b,  c ;  and,  with 


ii  / 


.Itf 

■A 

n 


803 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ton 


^nio   tlesperdtely  rlriven   against   ono   cheek,   strumrled 


with  his  'pot-Iiooks  and  h 


lingers '—the  first  eilbrts  of  tlio 


pohto  letter  writer.     It  was  luird  work,  far  tougher  than 
that  with  the  spade  or  the  pickaxe.     Many  a  time  did  tlie 
poor  fellow's  (uKirage  begin  to  fail,  and  his  heart  sink,  as 
It  were,  nito  his  boots ;  but  lie  would  not  be  beaten—he 
would  not  have  it  said  that  he  failed.     He  did  not  fail 
With   the   aid    of  a   fellow-student,   more   advanced   than 
liims(.lf,  he  drew  out  his  first  contract,  which  was  for  a 
few  Imndred   dollars.       This   was    accepted;    and    bein- 
executed  in   the   most  satisfactory  manner  bv  the  youn- 
contractor,  wlio  himself  performed  no  small"  part  of  the 
task.   It  was  his  first  great    step    in    hfe-contracts    for 
thousands  of  doUars,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
following  more   rapidly  than,   in   his  wildest   dreams,  he 
could  have  imagined  possible.     This  self-made  man  quickly 
adapted  himself  to  the  manners  of  the  class  to  which  he 
had  so  laboriously  and  creditably  raised  himself ;  and  no 
one   who   converses   with  the   shrewd,   genial,   ofi-handed 
Irishman,  who  drives  his  carriage,  lives  in  fine  st-le,  and 
IS  educating  liis  young  family  with  the  utmost  care  and  at 
groat  cost,  could  suppose  that  he  was  the  same  rough  giant 
who  a  few  years  before   sat  upon   the   form   of  a  ni-ht 
sdiool,   wearily  plodding  at  words  of  two  syllables,   and, 
with  tongue  fiercely  driven  against  his  cheek,"  scrawled  on 
a  slate  his  first  lessons  in  writiii'^''. 

Any  one  passing  through  the  fashionable  quarter  of  the 
capital  of  a  Southern  State  may  see  the  weH-appointed 
mansion  of  a  worthy  Irishman,  who  was  born  within  toe 


swing  of  the 


Bells  of  Sliandon, 
That  sound  so  grand  on 
Tlio  iileasant  waters 
Of  Mie  river  Loe. 


As  a  journeyman  baker  he  entered  that  city  in  the  year 
1851.     In  a  few  months  after,  he  had  saved  200  dollars  : 


now  HE  BKCAME  A  MASTER  BAKER. 


803 


:,  struggled 
ibrts  of  tlio 
)Uglior  tlmn 
iuie  did  tlio 
:'Mrt  sink,  an 

beateu — ho 
id  not  fail, 
ancod   than 

was  for  a 
and    being 

the  young 
inrt  of  the 
titracts  for 
3  of  dollars, 
Ireama,  he 
lan  quickly 
)  which  he 
If ;  and  no 
oil-handed 

sb'le,  and 
xre  and  at 
)ugh  giant 
)f  a  night 
ibles,  and, 
rawled  on 

•ter  of  the 
■appointed 
-vithin  the 


1  the  year 
)  dollars  - 


and  with  this,  as  part  payment,  he  bought  a  small  house 
and  lot  of  half  an  acre  of  ground— the  balance  to  be  paid 
at  the  covenanted  time.     Having  thus  made  his  tirst  start 
in   life,  he  then   made  his   second — ho   married.     Besides 
the  half  acre  in  his  Jot,  he  rented  an  additional  acre ;  and 
this  acre  wa«  the  chief  moans  of  his  future  fortune.     Hia 
ambition  was  to  be  a  master  baker,  'no  man's  servant.' 
How  was  this  to  be  done  ?     Through  the  acre  of  garden. 
But   what  time  had  the  journeyman   baker,  who   worked 
from  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  four  in  the  evening 
in  the  bakery,  to  spend  in  citUivathig  vegetables?     Very 
little  time,  an  ordinary  person  would  sujipose ;    but  the 
Corkman,  who  had  seen  how  vegetables  were  grown  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  his  native  city,  and  who  knew  how  profit- 
able they  would  be  when  raised  for  his  adopted  city,  was 
not  an  ordinary  pei-Son— on  the  contrary,  he  was  a  deter- 
mined and  energetic  person,  who  was  resolved  to  rise  in 
the  world   by   more    than    ordinary    industry.     So,    after 
leaving  his  day's  work  at  the  bake-house,  he  would  go  home 
and  work  at  his  little  farm  fi-om  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon  to   a  late  hour    in    the    night— frequently    to    one 
o'clock  next  morning,  if  the  moon  served ;  he  would  then 
snatch  a  couple  of  hours'  rest,  and  be  again  in  the  bake- 
house at  the  regular  hour.     Every  minute  that  he  could 
steal  fi-oni  his  natural  rest,   every  moment  of  his  leisure 
time,  was  devoted  by  the  journeyman  baker  to  the  culti- 
vation  of  his  land ;  and  when  the  bright  Southern  moon 
Hooded  the  silent  night  with  its  radiance,    the  Corkman 
might  be  seen  digging  and  delving,  raking  and  weeding, 
planting  and  sowing ;  until  his  farm  blossomed  as  a  garden, 
and  bore  abundant  fruit.     By  this  means  he  nearly  sup- 
ported his  family,  and  saved  his  wages.     In  three  years  he 
has  500  dollars  in  the   bank.     With  this   500  dollars  he 
took  his   third  start   in   America— he    became    a    master 
baker.     And  so  well  did  he  succeed  in  his  new  capacity, 
that  he  soon  established  a  good  business,  saved  a  con^j-der- 


mm 


Mij 
-.'St' 


■■f- 


•N 


THE  IRISU  IN  AMERICA. 


nl.le  Kum  of  mon«y,  e.lncato,!  Iuh  cI,il,l,o,.,  l,uiU  for  tl.o.u 

do..  ,.t  l„a  lu.n.lH,  cm  Ht,.to  that  this  solf-„m.lo  m,u,   i„ 
....."..«  tl.0  „,„st  rcspcctoa  of  tl.o  Irisl.-bon.  eitizo,.,  of  tho 

«..c.co..  ul  y.     Ho  had  a  ■.,„oczo  in  hin  ln,«i„o.,.  d,.X!  tl 
^va.•;    but  ,vhc„  I  «aw  l,i,n  he  had  f;ot  over  all  hiHdiffi. 
cilt.os,  and  was  then  sailing  before  tho  wi,.d.     Ho  is  a 
genninely  sobe- n,a„,  who.  to  use  his  ow,.  words,  'knows 
the  danger  of  drink,  and  never  loat  an  hour  by  it  iu  hi 


And  hero  I  answer   a  question  whieh  is  in  every  Irish- 
man s  nund    op  the  tip  of  every  Irishn.an's  to„gue,_how 
are   he  Irish  .lon.g  ui  America  ?-have  they  bettered  their 
condition,  or  the  eontrary  V-aro  they  improving  or  goi^" 
back  ?    I  was  nearly  six  months  going  fi-om  place  to  place" 
and  during  that  time,  and  in  the  course  of  \hat  extlnded' 
.lonniey  I  was  brought  into  contact  with  men  of  diifercnt 
nationalities,  various  opinions,  and  all  classes  of    society 
I  conversed  with  Irishmen  who  took  a  desponding  or  :, 
hopeful  view  of   the  position   of  their  countrymen,   who 
mourned  oyer  their  weaknesses  and  their  follies,  or  were 
proud  of  their  virtues.     I  sought  to  gather  information 
wherever  I  went,  and  I  had  abundant  opportunities  of 
doing  so.     I  searched  and  I  sifted  wi.li  an  earnest  purpose 
and   a  conscientious  desire  to  come  at  the  truth.     I  set 
statement  against  statement,  opinion   against  opinion,   in 
the  spirit  of  a  judge  rather  than  with  the  feeling  of   an 
advocate-though,  i  honestly  confess  it.  I  could  not,  even 
for  a  s^ocond,  divest  myself  of  a  strong  wish  to  hear  the 
best   ot   those  of  my  own  race  and  country.     The  result 
then  of  every  observation  I  could  make,  of  every  enquiry 
I  instituted,  of  every  information  I  received,  is  thi.s.-that 


TiiK  inrsri  dont  no  tuhmsklvrs  justice. 


C05 


whilo,  ill  Ronio  pldcoM,  Uiv.Yo  aro  evils  to  doploro,  but  ovilH 
whii-li  aro  boinj,^  it'me(li(«(l,  unci  Avliihi  many  urc  not  aoii,.^ 
wliut  thoy  on-l,t  or  coul.l  do  for  their  iidvaneoinont,  on  tho 
whol<s  and  dealin<r  with  tlicni  in  luaHH,  tho  Iriwh  in  Anioricii 
aro  Htoadily  riHin-    Htoadily  advancing    ntoadily  iinprovin.^ 
in  cn-oujuHtanoos  and  in  position  ;  and  that,  an  a  rule,  thoy 
havo  cnonnously  boncfittod  their  condition  by  liavinir  loft, 
the   old   country  for   tlio   new.      In   every   walk   au«l   de- 
partment of  life   they  are  making   their  mark.     As    mer- 
chants,  bankers,    manufacturers— as    lawyers,    physicdans, 
engineers,  architects,  inventors— as  literary  men,  *as   moii 
of  science,  as  artists,  as  scholars,  as  teachers  of  youth- -as 
soldiers,  wise  in  council  and  terrible  in  battle— as  states- 
men, as  yet  more  the  sons  of  Irishmen  than  Irish  born,— 
the  nationality  is  adeciuately  and  honoural)ly  representc'd ; 
while  the  great  bulk— the  mass— are  felt  to  'be  essential  to 
the  progress,  the  greatness,  tho  very  life  of  tho  American 
Ilepublic.      Where,  as  must   necessarily  be   the   case,  tho 
Irish  constitute  a  large  proportion  of  the  working  popula- 
tion of  a  great  city,  they  may  be  looked  down  upon  by 
the   prejudiced  or  the  superfine— those  who  dislike  their 
religion,  or  despise  homely  manners  or  rude  employment ; 
but  the  toiling,  hard-working  mass  of  the  Irish  are  never- 
theless rising  day  by  day,  not  only  to  greater  comfort,  but 
to  a  fuller  appreciation  of  their  duties  and  their  destiny  as 
citizens  of  America. 

Tho  Irish  in  America  injure  themselves  more  than  others 
can  or  are  willing  to  injure  them.  They  injure  themselves 
seriously  by  not  in  all  cases  putting  forward  their  best 
men  to  represent  them,  whether  in  municipal  or  other 
offices  ;  and  by  allowing  men  do  speak  and  act  in  their 
name  who  are  not  the  most  qualified,  indeed  in  some,  and 
too  many,  instances^  not  in  the  least  qualified  to  do  tho 
one  or  the  other.  Thoughtful  Irishmen,  sensitive  and  self- 
respecting,  are  the  very  first  to  deplore  this  great  prac- 
tical error ;  and  I  must  say  I  have  been  but  too  sensible  of 


-1 


306 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ir 


its  damaginnr  influence  in  more  than  one  instance,  or  one 
locality.     The    evil  wliicli  is  done  follows   as  a  necessary 
and  inevitable  consecnience.     AVhen  the  Ir^sh  put  forward 
or  elect  certain  men,  they  are  assumed  to  do  so  of  their 
own  free   choice— to   select   them  as  the    right  men,   the 
best  men;  and  this  being  so,  they  must  not  be  surprised 
if  the  prejudiced  or  the  censorious  are  only  too  willing  to 
accept  such  ill-chosen  and  unfit  representatives  as  accurate 
types  and  fair  exponents  of  Irish  character,  Irish  genius, 
or  Irish  worth.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  the  Irish 
adopt  tlic  right  men— men  who  are  upright,  honourable, 
wise— in  a  word,  presentable— men  of  whom  they  may  say 
with  pride,  'they  belong  to  us;  they  are  of  our  stock;  we 
are  not  ashamed  to  put  them  forward  as  our  representa- 
tives,'—in  such  case  they  do  not  so  much  do  honour  to 
themselves,  as  simple  justice   to  their  country   and  their 
race.     I  cannot  venture  to  deal  otherwise  than  in  gene- 
rahties  ;  and  I  shaU  therefore  only  add  that,  while  I  have 
frequently  witnessed,  and  always  with  intense  satisfaction, 
ilio  result  of  the  wise  and  self-respecting  policy  of  select- 
ing the  best,  the  ablest,  and    the  worthiest  Irishmen,  or 
sons  of  Irishmen,  to  represent  the  race,  I  have  had  'too 
many   occasions   to   deplore   the    fatal   folly   of    Irishmen 
thrusting  into  pubhc  positions,  or  rather  suffering  to  be 
thrust  into   such  positions,   men  who,   possibly   excellent 
persons  in  their  own  way,  and  eminently  suited  for  the 
retirement  of  domestic  life,  were  not  qualified  to  stand  the 
test  of  American  criticism— that  is,  as  the  representatives 
of  a  great  nationality  and  a  gifted  people.     There  is  no 
lack  of  the  best  men  for  such  offices  or  positions,  be  they 
what  they  may  ;  but  it  wiU  often  happen  that  the  sensitive 
man  of  merit  has  no  chance  against  the  vulgar  intriguer— 
and  so  the  Irish  are  damaged  in  the  pubhc  esteem. ""  This, 
however,  is  an  evil  that  must  cure  itself  in  course  of  time,' 
when  the  Irish-American  witnesses  the  happy  results  of  a 
pohcy  consistent  not  only  with  reason  and  common-sense, 
but  with  the  most  ordinary  seK-respect. 


now  THEY  ARE  REGARDED. 


807 


On  the  whole,  then,  and  notwithstanding  this  evil,  which 
is   more   damaging-  than   some   will   beh(3ve,   the   Irish  in 
America  are  steadily  advancing  in  social  position,  as  weU 
as  improving  in  material  prosperity.     They  are  improving 
oven  in  the  cities  in  which  dangers  and  temptations  are 
most  liable  to  assail  them ;   they  are  improving  in  places 
in  which  society  is,  as  it  were,  only  setthng  down  into  its 
legithnate  grooves ;  and  in  many,  many  parts  of  the  country 
they  are— taking    all    circumstances    into    consideration- 
progressing  more  rapidly  and  more  successfully  than  any 
other  class  of  the  community.     The  Irish  landed  on  the 
shores  of  America  poorer- with  less  money,  less  means,  less 
capital— than  the  Eughsh,  the  Scotch,  or  the  Germans;  in 
fact,  under  less  favourable  circumstances  in  almost  every 
respect  than  the  people  of  any  other  country.     The  vast 
majority  of  them  came  in  poverty— too  many  in  want  and 
sickness— too  many  only  to   find   a   grave   after  landing  ; 
and,  therefore,  what  the  Irish  in  America  have  done  in 
their   adopted   country— their   new  home— though   by  no 
means  all,   or  anything  like  all,  that    could  be  wished  of 
them,  is  an  indisputable  proof  of  the  inherent  vigour  and 
vitahty  of  their  race.     This  is  what  may  be  conscientiously 
said  of  them  to-day ;  but  how  nuidi  more  may  be  said  of 
them  in  ten  or  twenty  years  hence,  belongs  to  the  future 
and  to  the  goodness  of  Providence. 

And  now  a  word  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Irish  are 
regarded  in  America.  Much  necessarily  depends  upon 
themselves,  but  much  also  depends  on  the  circumstances 
m  which  they  are  placed,  or  by  which  they  are  surrounded. 
In  some  places  they  possibly  exercise,  or  are  supposed  to 
exercise,  too  much  influence  in  elections;  and  those  whose 
party  they  liappen  to  oppose,  or  with  whose  ambition  they 
interfere,  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  think  of  them  and 
speak  of  them  in  the  most  friendly  or  flattering  terms. 
In  otlier  places  tlie  religious  sentiment  of  a  large  and 
powerful  class  may  be  so  strong  as  to  intensify  national 


'W 


t 

i. 


."8 


n 

1! 
3 


"I 

'1$ 


308 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


I.. 


prejudice,  a   jealousy  Avliich  is  common   to   all   countries, 
Or  the  majority  of  the  Irisli  may  happen  to  be  liumblo 
working  people ;  and  even  in  Republics  the  rich  are  like  the 
samo   class  in  old-established  Monarchies,  rather  inclined 
to  look  down  upon  those  Avho  are  not,  as  themselves,  decked 
in  purple  and  line  linen.     I  refer  in  another  place  to  the 
long    and    bitter  struggle    against    the   Catholic   and   the 
foreigner,  and   I   shall   only  now  remark    that,  whatever 
prejudice   may  still   exist,  it  nnist,  to   a  great   extent,  be 
traced  to  this  old  feeling,  which  has  nifinifested  itself  at 
various   intervals   before   and   since   the   Revolution;   and 
that,  when  one   may  hear  or  see  the  Irish  spoken  of  or 
written  of  in  a  harsh  or  contemptuous  spirit,  it  would  be 
well,  before  accepting  such  expressions  of  opinion  as  proof 
of   anything  more  than  of  a  narrow,  a  malevolent,,  or  an 
angry  mind,  to;  speculate  as  to  the  cause,  the  motive,  or 
the  circumstances  in  which  the  traduccr  and  the  traduced 
are   relatively   placed.     On   the   whole,  then,  and   makuig 
due  allowance  for  the  causes  and  motives  at  which  I  have 
glanced,  the  Irish  do  stand  well  in  the  pubhc  esteem  of 
America;    and  in   many  places   in  which   I   have   been   I 
know  they  are  not  only  generally  esteemed,  but  arc  highly 
popular. 

As  to  the  individual  Irishman,  he  is  perhaps  more 
truly  popular  than  any  other  man  in  America.  His  genial 
quahties  and  kindly  nature,  his  wit,  and  humour,  and 
pleasant  manners— these  render  him  agreeable  as  a  com- 
panion, and  sought  after  in  society  ;  and  when  business 
abiHty  and  rigid  conscientiousness  are  combined  with  the 
more  social  qualities,  as  they  are  in  numberless  instances, 
then  there  is  no  man  more  admired  or  respected  than  the 
Irishman.  I  have  frequently  heard  an  American  say  of 
an  Irishman,  who  would  no  more  think  of  disguising  his 
nationality  than  he  would  of  committing  a  crime,  'Sir,  he 
is  a  whole-soHled  Irishman— a  high-souled  gentleman,  sir.' 

But  there  is  one  class  of  whom,  neither  from  Irishmen 


SCOTCH  IRISH. 


809 


countries, 
be  Iniiuble 
xre  like  the 
or  inclined 
ves,  decked 
lace  to  the 
c  and  tliG 
,  whatever 

extent,  be 
3d  itself  at 
ition ;  and 
>kcn  of  or 
:  would  be 
n  as  proof 
ent,  or  an 
motive,  or 
3  traduced 
d  making 
ch  I  have 
esteem  of 
^e  been  I 
[ire  highly 

a^is  more 
His  genial 
Qour,  and 
as  a  com- 
1  business 
1  with  the 
instances, 
-1  than  the 
in  say  of 
uising  his 
3,  'Sir,  he 
3man,  sir.' 
Irishmen 


nor  Americana,  is  much  said  in  praise.  '  Whole-souled ' 
and  'high-toned  '  would  sound  as  a  sarcasm  and  a  mockc>rv 
If  applied  to  those  Irish,  or  sons  of  Irish,  loho  ,U,h'.  them- 
selves  'Scotch-Irish '-a  title  or  designation  so  unworthv 
and  so  unnatural,  as  to  excite  the  derision  of  every  man  of 
lar<'e  heart  and  generous  spirit. 

The  Scotch-Irish!     ,Who   are  the  Scotch-Irish^      What 
does  the  term  mean  ?     Is  not  the  compound  of  itself  a  con- 
tradiction V     Such  were  the  questions  which  I  involuntarily 
asked  when  the  strange  absurdity  lirst  met  my  eye  or  ear 
It  was   so  curicnis,  it  comprehended   a  treason   so   incon- 
sistent  with    the    ordinary  feehngs    by   which    men    are 
governed,  that  I  was  at  first  much  perplexed  when  striving 
to  explain  its  meaning.      But  now  I  have  no  difficulty  iu 
understanding  and   accounting  for  this    most    ridiculous 
compound,    this    mongrel   designation.       Scotch-Irish    are 
those  Irish,  or  descendants  of  Irishmen,  who  are  ashamed 
o±  their  country,  and   represent  themselves  to  Americans 
as  other  than  what   they  really  are.      Not   only  are  they 
ashamed  of  their  country,  but,  so  far  as  this  f^lse  feelin^ 
influences  them,  they  are  its  shame.      Detested  by  every 
true  Irishman,  they  are  despised  by  every  genuine  Ameri- 
can     It  would   appear   that,  though  the   descendants  of 
settlers  who  came  over,  or  were  sent  over,  to  Ireland  in 
he  time  of  James,  or  Charles,  or  Cromwell,   and  thou-h 
their  families  have  intermixed  with  the  native  p<Ppulation 
with  whose  blood  and  race  theirs  has  blended  durino-  two 
centuries-in  fact,  as  far  l,ack  as  when  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
landed  on  Plymouth  rock-they  still  are  not  Irish '     This 
practicaUy,  is  what  the   Scotch-Irish  saj/  of  them.dve,  b^ 
the  adoption  of  this  unnatural  distinction  :  '  Sucli  is  our 
stubborn    hatred   of    the  country   on  which   our    remote 
ancestors  were  quartered,  and  from  which  so  many  of  the 
rig-litful  owners  were  driven  to  ma^e  way  for  us,  we  could 
not  amalgamate  with  thr  Irish  nation,  or  sympathisc3  with 
Its  people.      TJiis  is  a  hard  judgment  for  any  class  to  pro- 
nounco   against  itself-and   this  is  unmistakably  imphed 


m. 


€1 


.,.1 

■"m 

1 


310 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


'■'<i  *■■*■ 


by  the  mongrel  designation  of  Scotch-Irish.  The  noble 
Geraldines  soon  became  more  Irish  than  the  Irish  them- 
selves. Such  is  ever  the  case  with  a  generous  race  ;  they 
will  thoroughly  identify  themselves  with  the  people  among 
whom  their  lot  is  cast.  Not  so  with  the  Scotch-Irish  ;  the 
longer  they  dwell  in  the  country,  the  stronger  seems  to 
be  their  dislike  to  it,  and  the  greater  their  anxiety— when 
abroad — to  be  recognised  as,  or  mistaken  for,  something 
different  from  that  which  they  are,  according  to  every  law 
of  nature.  This,  practically,  is  their  own  story  of  them- 
selves. 

It  may  be  well  to  enquire  why  these  people  call  them- 
selves by  this  unpatriotic  title  or  designation.  The  reason 
or  cause  is  based  on  various  motives,  not  one  of  which  is 
praiseworthy  or  ennobling.  Cowardice,  whether  moral  or 
physical,  is  not  a  very  creditable  excuse  for  the  adoption 
of  this  description  of  national  masquerade  ;  yet  to  moral 
cowardice  inay  be  traced  this  ludicrous  disguise.  Vanity 
is  not  a  specially  high-toned  motive ;  and  vanity  has  much 
to  do  with  it.  Bigotry  is  not  an  ennobling  sentiment; 
and  bigotry  has  also  its  share  in  the  miserable  treason. 
To  conciKate  prejudice  and  gratify  dislike — this  was  the 
origin  of  Scotch-Irishism. 

The  prejudice  to  be  concihated  was  twofold— national 
and  religious.  But  the  prejudice  against  the  stranger 
comprehended  all  strangers,  all  Irish,  the  Northern  Pro- 
testant no  less  than  the  Southern  Catholic.  Hence  then 
the  cry—'  I  am  no  mere  Irishman  ;  I  am  Scotch-Irish.' 
And  many  of  these  men— these  Irish-born  sons  of  Irish- 
born  fathers,  and  Irish-born  grandfathers,  and  Irish-born 
great-grandfathers,  and  Irish-born  great-great-grandfathers, 
joined  in  every  fierce  crusade  -against  Irishmen,  or  against 
Irishmen  because  they  were  CathoHcs.  There  v/ere,  no 
doubt,  many  more  that  claimed  a  remote  Scotch  ancestry, 
who,  Pr(3testants  or  Presl)yterians  as  they  were,  stood  by 
thoir  countrymen  on  every  occasion  when  either  thciv 
freedom  or  their  religion  was   assailed  ;   and  these  high- 


THE  SCOTCH  IRISH. 


311 


Id — national 


minded  men  would  have  felt  themselves  disgraced  if  they 
caUed  themselves  anything  else  but  what  they  boasted  of 
being — Irish. 

Then  the  mass  of  the  Irish  emigrants  were  poor,  many 
illiterate,  many  in  a  miserable  condition,  a  temporary  bur- 
den on  the  charity  or  the  industry  of  the  community     Tor 
the  moment  this  Irish  emigration  was  unpopular  ;  it  ex- 
cited apprehension,  even  hostility,  there  not  being,  at  least 
in  the  minds  of  some,  sufficient  confidence  either  in  the 
energy  of  the  incomers,  or  the  resources  of  the  country  to 
which  they  came.     Here  again  was  the  occasion  for  the 
unnatural  Irish  to  exclaim-' These  myriads  of  penniless 
adventurers  are  a  different  race  from  us.     We,  sleek  and 
weU  fed,  have  nothing  in  common  with  those  ill-clad,  haH- 
starved  creatures  ;  we  are  not  Irish,  but  Scotch-Irish.'      To 
this  pitiable  vanity,  this  abject  moral  cowardice,  there  was 
ii  splendid  contrast  in  the  conduct  of  Irishmen,  who  not- 
withstanding the  old  Scotch  blood  in  their  veins,  welcomed, 
assisted,  and  cherished  their  poor  countrymen,  with  whom 
they   claimed   kindred,    even    though   their  pockets   were 
empty,  their  raiment  was  scanty,  and  sickness  had  foUowed 
in  their  track. 

Then  the  vast  majority  of  the  Irish  emigrants  were  Ca- 
thohcs ;  and  when  the  evil  spirit  of  persecution  broke  out, 
here  was  a  strong  motive  for  repudiating  the  countr .  that 
Hooded  America  with  Popery.  'We  are  of  a  different  race 
and  religion  to  these  people,  good  Know  Nothings !  Ex- 
cellent Native  Americans !  do  not  confound  us  with  these 
Irish  Papists.  We  are  Scotch-Irish— Protestant  Scotch- 
Irish.  We  are  as  opposed  to  these  Irish  Papists  as  you 
are ;  and  to  prove  our  sincerity— to  prove  to  you  that  we 
are  not  of  the  same  blood,  though  we  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  born  in  the  same  country,  we  will  heartily  join  yon 
m  every  effort  you  may  make  to  put  them  down.'  And 
they  did  as  tliey  said.     They  were  honest  so  far. 

The  hteraturo  of  England  was  anti-Catholic,  if  not  anti- 
Irish  ;  it  excited  hoatility  and  it  deepened  prejudice.     The 


312 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


literature  of  England  became  the  literature  of  America,  or 
it  influenced  the  tone  of  the  literature  of  native  gi'owth. 
Another  reason  for  the  poor-hearted  Irishman,  while  i^-o- 
claiming  his  Protestantism,  to  repudiate  his  country. 

A  volume  of  indignant  commentary  could  not  outweigh 
the  force  of  a  few  words  which  I  heard  uttered  by  an  Ame- 
rican, who  was  much  perplexed  by  the  term  Scotch-Irish  : 

'What  does  Mr. mean?     Why  should  he  set  himself 

out  as  not  being  an  Irishman?     What  ,^  mean  by  this 

Scotch-Irish  ?  Wasn't  he  born  in  Irela^  .  I  was  born  in 
America.  I  am  an  American.  Then  why  should  he  pre- 
tend he  isn't  an  Irishman?  I  may  prefer  an  American 
Protestant  to  an  Irish  Cathohc,  though  a  man's  religion  is 
nothing  to  me,  it's  his  own  aflair  ;  but  I  like  the  man  who 
stands  up  for  his  native  laud,  whatever  he  is.  I  don't  like 
a  hound  that  denies  the  country  that  gave  him  birth.  It 
isn't  natural.' 

Thus  it  is,  whatever  their  own  opinion  of  their  conduct 
may  be,  those  who  proclaim  themselves  Scotch-Irish  gain 
little  in  the  esteem  of  the  generous  and  the  high-spirited, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  lose  much  by  this  shabby  absurdity. 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  among  the  most  favourable 
specimens  of  the  country  whom  I  met  in  British  America 
or  the  States,  whether  North  or  South,  were  Irish  Pro- 
testants, from  Ulster  as  well  as  Munster ;  but  these  men 
were  not  only  known  and  admired  as  Irishui  n,  but  they 
boasted  of  being  Irishmen.  'Whole-souled  Irishmen' 
indeed.  I  must  add,  in  justice  to  my  countrymen  iu 
Canada,  that  I  never  heard  of  the  Scotch-Irish  until  I  camo 
to  the  States. 

There  may  possibly  be  those  in  Ireland  who  in  their 
secret  hearts  have  no  love  for  the  country  that  gave  them 
birth  ;  but  there  is  no  open  and  avowed  treason  to  their 
nationality.  Anything  of  the  kind  would  only  ensure 
universal  contempt,  and  loss  of  pubKc  honour  and  private 
esteem  to  the  })erson  niean  enough  or  rash  enough  to  be 
guilty  of  it.     Then  why  should  it  be  pardoned  in  America? 


CHAPTER  XVII, 


Remi  tanceg  nome-Something  of  tho  Angel  still-How  the 
Fam.ly  are  brought  out-Remittunces-A  SMe  •L-naiT'-A 
Young  ^  Pioneer-A    Toor   Irish    Widow-Selfi  nr  wLth^ 


Amount  sent, 


II  America? 


TT  IS  difficult  to   realise  to  tlie  mind  the  magnitude  of 
1    the  pecuniary  sacrifices  made  by  the  Irish  in  America 
either  to  brmg  out  their  relatives  to  their  adopted  country 
or  to  reheve  the  necessities  and  improve  the  circumstances 
o±  those  who  could  not  leave  or  who  desired  to  remain  in 
the  old  country.     To  say  that  they  have  thus  disposed  of  a 
sum  equal  to  Twenty-four  Millions  of  British  money  or 
supposing  there  to  have  been  no  depreciation  of  the  cur- 
rency of  the  United  States,   One  Hundred    and    Twenty 
MiUions  of  Dollars,  scarcely  conveys  the  true  idea  of  the 
vastness  of  the  amount  of  money  sent  within  a  quarter  of 
a  century  by  one  branch  of  the  same  great  family  to  the 
other.     But  if  it  were  asserted— as  it  might  be  with  the 
most  perfect  accuracy— that  the   amount   of  money  sent 
across  the  ocean  by  the  Irish  in  America  and  Australia 
withm  that  time  would  have  paid  for  more  than  two-thirds 
of  all  the  property  that  passed  through  the  Court  of  En- 
cumbered Estates  in  Ireland-property  represented  by  an 
annual  income  or  rental     xceeding  2,000,000^.- the   mind 
Wight  possibly  appreciate  the  prodigious  magnitude  of  this 
leart-ofiermg  of  one  of  the  most  generous  and  self-sacri- 
hcmg  of  all  the  families  of  the  human  race.      As  a  mere 
li'cit,    more    than    21,000,000Z.    have    been    sent    bv     the 

14 


I 


& 


1 

■I,  > 


3 

4 


nil 


TIIK   lUlSII    IN   AMi;i{|('A. 


p% 


'\v\nU     io     |MIV    for    pMHHMir'VM  mid    OIiMIIh    Mil. I     f.llVH    i...    (liHl.Mlll 

pliKvi;    I..  (Minl.lo   lli..M.«  'Mi  liuinn'   1..   pMV  m.  Iii'-li  iviil,  |mm 
''"I"'  '"  "  I'"'"  "I"  N.-aivilv;   I..  Nii|.|M.i(.  paiviilH  too  old.  or 
•""  I'vMo.  or   loo  pn«jii,li,-,>d.  Ir,  vridiiio  Mcn.HH  iUo  hoii  ;  or 
(->  N,«,Miio   llio  mmIV'Iv  Mild   rdiicMlioii  ..!'  l>io||i(-pH  mid  HiHiriM 

vol      loo     Vi.nil;.;     io     I.IMVO     lllC     jHMilHof    M.    pro!  TMl'l  .'d    VOVM-;!) 

Mild  M  loiij;  jounit'v  ill  m.  .slrniifjo  i-oiiiilrv. 

TluM'o   in  not  M^  |>rivMlo  l>MiiK««r,   or  pmnmc-iij-im-  hroluM-,   or 
UKofil    ill   Miiv  of  lli,»  ,Mli,.Mo|'  jlio  lliiil,.d   SImIoh  who  could 
nol    i.<H  ol'  iiiMlMiiroM  of  III.'   most  oximordiiiMrv  M'lfd.MiiMl 
pmclJNod  in  IIk'  sons  miuI  dMiiolid^rH  of  IIk*  hiMli  vnco.     Tlio 
oidrifs  ill  Hump  lod-'orH  mio  prtwii.'  <«iioii..di     so  luMiiydol- 
iars  s,«iil.   ,)ii   siM-h   M,  il.'i.v.  I.y   M    vomi..;    niMii    o\-   a    vomi,^ 
AVoiuMii  wilh  mi    Irish   iimiio,  fo  soiiu^  person   in    In-lMiid  ol' 
usiniilMr  iiMiiu^      Ihif   w.mv  thai.  iiiMllcr  ofrad,  (Milry  (niiis- 
UxHoA    inlu  ifs    IriK'  colours.   vt>liiiiics  of   pO(>lrv   niifrhl.  Ih\ 
wrilltMi    «>f   ihosc   «'omiilcsM    hcarl -olV(>rinj;H,    jhc    fniils  of 
hard    st^lf  denial,   iiol    merely  at    llie    s:icrilice  of   iimo<'(Mil, 
(MijiunuMils.   :ind    liunihh*    liiu'ry.   d(>ai'  io   Nyonian's   ii;diire, 
from    a    n;iiur;il    ;ind    jvr;ic(^fiil    iiislinci,    buf   oi'ieu    nl    i\\o 
0OHio(  the  foihh^st   hopes  of  tin*  hiim.an  Invart.      Mow  Ion..-, 
for  instanc«^.  if  th(>  Mcconntani  trouMed  hims,>lf  to  consider, 
mav    li<^    nol    \\n\o   reiiuMnhenHJ    this   most,    rc<;-nl!ir    oi'   his 
visitors.  sin*-e  whiMi.  almost   ;i  child    in   yearH,  slie  timidiv 
mul  vet    jMoiulK  i'oiUid(\l   io  his  custody  her  tlrst  (vmiiiios. 
Avith  many  ;in   iujunclion   ;ind   m.aiiy  ;i  pr;iyer.  .and     lu>li(>v- 
iiij4>  sho  read  sympathy  in  liis  fac(v-told  him  fin- \yhom  it 
was    intended,   and    ho\y  sadly  it    xy.as  wanted   by  the  oU 
I^cople  :it    home,  for  \yhom  she  had  risked  the  dmio-ers  o\' 
tlu^  derp.  ami  the  worse  ptMMis  of  a  strani;-o  land?     Did  he 
♦'.uv  io  voixiwd   her  in  .any  otluM-  lio-ht  than  .as  a  constant 
customer,   lie  mi;-ht  haye  observed  lunv  the  soft  fair  face 
lost    Its  n\aid(Mi  bUuMu.  .and  hardened  into  prom.atnre  a!;v. 
nnirked  with  lines  of  care  and  toil,  as  year  after  y(\ar  this 
unconscious  martyr  io  tilial  duty  surrcnderctl  eyerytluii<» 


ll 


— ixtMi    iiie  yision   ol  a   Home  bU>ssed  by   the  hne  of  h 


lUS- 


UKMITTANCI':H.n()MIO.  .„,, 

•I.  "f  H,.n,|,„^,  flu,  r,„..,i„Ui   ,„.  f,h„  fifUnU,    n.,„iU,.     „ 

'"; '  '■';''^"-" '"  "■-I'-i ;  "".I  iiu, , I t      , ; 

.J!'"  rf '""''"'' ■ "'"  ''■'"''  «"■!  i«  I" " 1  ■«.,.„.- 

'"    'ii-'l  I.;;.-  ..rrival  i„  (,i,„  N™  \V.„.1,1  u,-.,  a....M„  1  , 

H  ut  I.-r  .^V..M  („  t,h„  ,a(,nM.U„„s  „f  „,„„„  ...tioi,,.  ,„,,i,.i„  ,  f 
-,  tc,  ,,n,v.,  .„  U,„  ,„v,.,|  „„„„  ,.t  ,„„„„  ,,,„.,,  ;,„,        ' 

"  '"".' '' 'r''  'I-  -"' t  "f  u..,  Httio  i,„a,..i "; 

u.,  «l,„  ,H  „.,.,.klv  ,.,1,11,,,,  a,„l  win,.,!.  „1,„  i„(,o,„l„     s 

■^.  ..s  «,(,I.  .,om  a  mattor  „f   imperative  ,1nty,  ^vlncl. 
'l'«.\  '1"  "ot  ami  ,,,,„„ot  tliink  of  ,li«„l,oyi,„v   amlJ     1 
'•»    *o   cont™.,,  a.y  <,e,i«,.t   i„    j,e,  J„- rg.     Id'^ 


"1,-* 


81G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


money  destined  to  that  purpose  in  regarded  an  sacred,  and 
must  not  be  diverted  to  any  ol)ject  less  worthy. 

I  was  told  in  Now  York  of  a  youn<,'  Irish  >^iv\,  who  was 
only   one   month   in   the  country,  going  to    the  oiHce  of 
the  well-known  Irish  Emigration   Society's   Bank  to  scind 
her  lirst  earnings  to  her  mother,  of  course  to  the  care  of 
the   parish    priest.       8ho   brought   with   her   live   dollars, 
whi(;h  in  her  simi)licity  she  supposed  to  be  equivalent  to 
tlie  1/.  she  intended  to  transmit.      At  that  time  six  dollars 
and   fifty   cents   were    rocpiirect  to    make   up   the   British 
pound,    and   the   poor   girl's   disappointment   was   intense 
wlien  she  was  made  to  understand  that  she  was  deficient  a 
dollar  and  a  half.     The  friend  who   accompanied  her,  and 
who  had  been  some  time  longer  in  the  country,  lent  her  a 
dollar  ;   the  clerk  advanced  her  the  balance,  and  the  un- 
diminished   pound   was    sent  to   her    'poor   mother,  who 
wanted  it  badly.'     In  a  few  days  after,  the  money  advanced 
by  the  clerk  was  paid  by  the  young  girl,  whose  face  was 
soon  known  in  the  office,  as  she  came  at  regular  intervals 
to   send  remittances,  which  were   gradually  increasing  in 
amount.      In  a  very  short  time  she  understood  the  relative 
value  of  American  '  greenbacks '  and  British  gold,  iind  made 
no   mistake   as  to   the   amount   of  the   money-orders   she 
desired  to  transmit. 

It  frequently  occurred  in  that  office,  that  small  sums 
were  advanced  to  make  up  the  amount  required  by  the 
person  intending  to  send  a  remittance  ;  and  in  no  instance 
was  there  failure  in  payment.  A  debt  of  the  kind  is,  of 
all  others,  the  most  sacred.  The  money  which  the  loan 
thus  helps  to  complete  is  a  filial  offering — the  gift  of  a 
child  to  a  parent  ;  and  confidence  so  reposed  is  never 
forfeited.  I  have  heard  the  same  statement  made  by 
bankers  and  brokers  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 
So  much  is  this  sending  of  remittances  to  Ireland  a 
matter  of  routine  to  those  engaged  in  the  business,  that 
there  must  be  something  special  in  the  circumstance  of  the 


H  sacred,  ami 


SOMETHING  OF  THE  ANGEL  STHX.  an 

case,   or  in   tlio  manner  or  appearance  of  the   applicant 
<>i  a  bill  of  excluuio-o,  to  excite  the  least  attention.     But 
.0  must  have  been  insensible  indeed  who  was  not  attracted 
i.v    he  stran-e  aspect  and  appearance  of  a  regular  visitor 
a     he  bank  in  Chambers'  Street.     So  surely  as  the  festivals 
of  Chnstmas  and  Easter  were  approachinrv,  would  a  man  of 
powerful  frame,  wild  eyes,  and  dissipated  appearance,  enter 
tlie  olhce,  and  laymg^  on  the  counter  $15,  or  $20  ask  for 
an  order  in  favour  of  an  old  man  away  in  some 'country 
village  m  Ireland.     Not  unTroquently  would  the  clothes  of 
the  Society's  customer  bear  the  marks  of  abject  poverty 
and  his  face  evidences  of  the  roughest  usage  ;  and  were  the 
police  asked  to  give  a  character  of  this  poor  fellow    they 
would  say  that,  though  honest  and  free  from  crime 'there 
was  not  'a  harder  case'  in   New  York;   and   that' there 
were  few  bettor  known  in  the  Tombs  than  he  was     True 
he  was  a  hard  case  indeed,  wasting  his  strength  and  enero-y 
m  folly  and  dissipation,  working  now  and  then  as  a  lon^'o-. 
shore  man,  but  spending  what  he  earned  in   drink    and 
only  sober  when  in  prison,  paying  the  penalty  of  drunken- 
ness or  violence,  or  at  tlie  two  fixed  periods  of  the  year^ 
some  time  before  Christmas  and  some  time  before  Easter 
While   in   prison   his   sobriety  was   involuntary— at  these 
periods  it  was  voluntary  and   delil)erate.     His   old  father 
m  Ireland  expected  to  hear  from  'his  boy,'  and  the  letter 
so  anxiously  looked  for  at  home  should  not  be  empty.     So 
long  then  as  it  was  necessary  to  work  in  order  to  send  a 
couple  of  pounds  as  a  Christmas-box  or  an  Easter  gift,  he 
would  do  so,  and  remain  sober  during  that  time  ;   but  o'nce 
the  money  was  sent,  and  the  sacred  duty  discharged,  he 
would  go  back  to  the  old  course,  spending  his  days  pa'rtly 
at  work,  partly  in  rows  and  dissipation,  and  very  constantly 
m  .the  Tombs,  possibly  repenting  his  wanton  waste  of  lif  J. 
ihore  was  no  one  to  tell  the  old  man  at  home  of  the  wild 
desperate  course  of  his   'boy'  in  America,  and  he  never 
knew  with    what    heroic   self-denial    these    welcome    re- 


8U 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMKIUCA. 


'^5- 


milinncoH  worn  oiinicd,  or  lion"  tlio  ono  stronfjf  aflfoction, 
llio  oiuf  .surviving,'  hoiiho  of  tluty,  wiiH  Huirici(>iil,  tlu)U«,^li 
nuliii[)pny  hut  for  a  inoniont,  to  rtulocni  a  rockloHH  but  not 
allo^c^ihor  (Ic^fj^radcil  nature.  Tlioro  was  indeed  Honietliinf^' 
of  tlio  an^^el  left  in  that  victim  of  the  most  fatal  enemy  to 
the  Irish  in  the  New  AVorld. 

AVith  all  haidvH  and  ofliccjs  thronj,di  which  numoy  is  sent 
to  Ireland  the  months  of  Deccnubor  and  March  are  the 
huHiciHt  portions  of  the  year.  Th(!  larjj^c^st  amount  is  then 
sent;  then  the  olKces  are  full  "of  bustlin*,',  eaner,  indeed 
clamorous  applicants,  and  then  are  the  clerks  hard  set  in 
their  attempts  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  im])ati(mt 
semhn-s,  who  are  mostly  femahis,  and  chiefly  '«^nrls  in 
phu^e.'  The  jj^reat  fc^stivals  of  Christnuis  and  Easter  ar(i 
specially  d(>ar  to  tlu!  Irish  heart,  being  associated  with  the 
most  sacred  inysteries  of  the  Christian  rc^lif^ion,  and  like- 
wise with  those  modest  enjoyments  with  which  the  family, 
liowever  Inuuble  or  poor,  seek  to  celebrate  a  season  of 
spiritual  rejoicing.  Then  there  is  joy  in  the  Church,  which 
typifies  in  the  decorations  of  her  altars  as  in  the  robes  of  her 
ministers  the  gladness  which  should  dwell  in  the  heart  of 
the  Christian.  Thus  misery,  and  sorrow,  and  want,  are  not 
in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  these  solemn  festivals,  nor 
with  the  feelings  which  ought  to  prevail  with  those  who 
believe  in  their  teaching.  Therefore,  to  enable  the  friends 
at  home— the  loved  ones  never  forgotten  by  the  Irish 
exile — to  'keep'  the  Christmas  or  the  Easter  in  a  fitting 
manner — in  reality,  to  allbrd  them  some  little  comforts  at 
those  grateful  seasons  of  the  Christian  year — remittances 
are  specially  sent ;  and  coming  from  the  source  which  they 
do,  these  comforts,  too  often  sadly  needed,  are  the  more 
prized  by  those  to  whom  the  means  for  procuring  them  arc 
forwarded  with  touching  remembrances,  and  fond  prayers 
and  blessings,  grateful  alike  to  piety  and  affection.  There 
is  something  beautiful  in  these  timely  memorials  of  una- 


now  THE  FAMILY  A\IK  lUiOUGHT  OUT.  ;U9 

l-i«'«l  lovo,    they  link  Htill  donor  hearts  which  (ho  ocuu 
(!;iiiuot  (hvi(h). 

What   womlorliil  tluno-.s  havo  not  thoso  Irish  ^nrls  ch,noI 
iHko  u  HiM;,do  oxu,ai,k>-,uul   thoro  is  not    u  Stuto  in   Iho 
UiH.m    in   winoli    the    simio    doo.s    not    oocur  :-~-KosoIvi^-.• 
o  ch,  somothin^r  to  bottor  tho  eircnniHtunc.os  of  her  funiilv" 
t  io  youu^r  I,ish  ^nrl  leavers  lu>r  h<nno  for  Aniorica.     TIhto 
«he  ^^oos  into  sorvico,  or  cn^oi^^oH  in  nonio  ki.ul  of  foniinino 
^'.npOyinont       Tho  ohject  slio  1ms  in  viovv-tho  same  for 
wh.oh  sho  loft  hor  homo  and  voiituro.l  to  a  strano-o  oonntry 
--im,tootH  hor  fnmi  all  (lai.^<u.,  ospooially  to  hor  oharaotor  : 
hat  ol,,     ,,  hor  <lroam  l.y  day  and  ni^dit,  is  tho  wolfaro  of 
uu-  lainilv^  whom  sho  is  dotorminc.l,  if  possihlo,  <o  a-.tin 
Imvo  witli  hor  as  of  old.     From  tlio  first  momont,  sho  savos 
evory  cent  sho  oarns-tliat  is,   ovory  <.ont  sho  can  spare 
horn  what  IS  absolntoly  necessary  to  hor  decent  appearance. 
She  regards  everythino- she  has  or  can  make  as  holon^nno- 
to   hose  to  whom  she  has  unconsciously  devoted  tho  liowor 
of  lier  youth,  and  for  whom  she  is  wiHiny  to  sacrifice  her 
woman  s  dearest  hopes.     To  keep  her  place,  or  retain  her 
employment,  what  wiU   she   not   endure  !-snoers    at    her 
nationality    mockery  of  her  peculiarities,  even  ridicule  of 
lier  faith    thouc,di   the   hot   hlood   flushes   her  cheek  with 
liorce   indignation.     At   every  hazard   the  place   must   be 
lai)t,  the   money  earned,  the  deposit  in  the  savings-bank 
increased  ;  and  though  many  a  night  is  passed  in  telrs  and 
prayers  her  face  is  calm,  and  her  eye  bright,  and  her  voice 
^(HU-fiU.     One  by  one,  the  brave  girl  bvings  the  members 
of  her  laim  y  about  her.     But  who  can  tell  of  her  anguish 

117  t  ^!''  t^"  "^"'^  ^^^«  '''''^^>  «!•  strays  from  the 

I  ght  path!-who   would  imagine  her  rapture  as  success 

owns  her   efforts,   and  she  is  rewarded  in  the  steadine.. 

the  brother  for  whom  she  feared  and  hoped,  or  in  the 

H ogress  of  the  sister  to  whom  she  has  been  as  a  mother! 

One  by  one,  she  has  brought  them  all  across  the  ocean,  to 

become  members  of  a  new  community,  citizens  of  a  great 


320 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


m 


,^-r 
'.'>» 


country— it  may  be,  the  mothers  and  fathers  of  a  future 
race;  and  knowing  the  jjerils  which  surround  youth  in  a 
country  in  which  Hcence  is  too  often— with  the  unthink- 
ing and  inexi^erienced — confounded  with  hberty,  and  im- 
piitience  of  control  with  proper  independence  of  spirit,  the 
faithful  girl  seeks  to  draw  them  within  the  influence  of 
religion,  in  which,  as  in  her  passionate  love  of  her  family, 
she  has  found  her  safeguard  and  her  strength.  Probably 
she  has  grown  old  before  her  time,  possibly  she  reahses  in 
a  happy  marriage  the  reward  of  her  youth  of  care  and  toil ; 
but  were  the  choice  to  be  given  her  of  personal  happiness, 
or  aU-sacrificing  afi'ection,  she  would  choose  the  hard  road 
rather  than  the  flowery  path.  Such  is  the  humble  Irish 
gu'l,  who  may  be  homely,  who  may  be  deficient  in  book 
knowledge,  but  whose  heart  is  beyond  gold  in  value. 

There  is  no  idea  of  repayment  of  the  money  thus  ex- 
pended. Once  given,  there  is  an  end  of  it.  This  is  not 
so  w^th  other  nationalities.  The  Germans,  a  more  prudent, 
are  a  less  generous  people  than  the  Irish  ;  and  when  money 
is  expended  in  the  bringing  out  of  relatives,  it  is  on  the 
understanding  that  one  day  or  other  it  will  be  refunded — 
that  it  will  become  a  matter  of  account,  to  be  arranged  as 
soon  as  possible,  or,  at  farthest,  when  convenient.  An  emi- 
nent Irish  clergyman,  who,  from  his  position,  has  much  to  do 
with  the  affairs  of  a  large  and  important  diocese,  remarked 
to  an  Irish  girl,  one  of  his  penitents,  who  came  to  consult 
him  as  to  the  best  mode  of  bringing  out  her  mother  and 
father,  she  having  frequently  sent  them  remittances,  and 
also  brought  out  and  provided  for  a  brother  and  sister. — 
'Why,  Ellen,  you  are  leaving  yourself  nothing.  Now  your 
father,  as  you  tell  me,  can  get  on  well,  and  there  is  work 
enough  for  him  here  ;  and  surely  he  ought  to  pay  you  back 
something  of  what  I  know  you  have  been  sending  him  for 
years.'     The  girl  looked  at  her  old  friend  and  adviser,  first 


in   doubt,  then  in   surprise,  then  in 


indignation. 


When 


she  replied,  it  was  with  sparkling  eye  and  flushed  cheek— 


)f  a  future 
youth  in  a 
e  uutliink- 
7,  and  im- 

spirit,  the 
fluence  of 
lier  family, 

Probably 
reahses  in 
e  and  toil ; 
happiness, 

hard  road 
mble  Irish 
it  in  book 
lue. 

y  thus  ex- 
^his  is  not 
•e  prudent, 
hen  money 
]  is  on  the 
refunded — 
LTanged  as 
.  An  emi- 
much  to  do 
,  remarked 
to  consult 
lotlier  and 
tances,  and 
.d  sister. — 

Now  your 
re  is  work 
y  you  back 
ig  him  for 
Iviser,  first 
Dn.  When 
3d  cheek — 


REMITTANCES.  321 

'What  sir!  take  back  fi-om  my  father  and  mother  what  1 
gave  them  from  my  heart !     I  could  not  rest  in  my  bed  if 
I  did  anything  so  mean.     N.^ver  say  the  hke  of  that  to  me 
agam,  Father,  and  God  bless  you!'    and   the  poor  ch-rn 
voice  quivered  with  emotion,  as  her  eye  softened  in  wistful 
appeal.      'Don't  mind,    Ellen,'   said    the    priest,    'I  was 
wrong;    I   should  have  known  you  better.'     'I  really'  as 
he  said  to  me,  'meant  to  try  what  answer  she  would  give  • 
tor  that  same  day  I  was  cognisant  of  a  very  different  mode 
o    arranging  matters.     Sir,  let  people  say  what  they  please 
of  them,  the  Irish  are  a  grand  race,  after  all,  and  the  Irish 
women   are   an  hcmour   to  their  country  and  their  faith.' 
Ihis  was  said  with  an  enthusiasm  not  usual  to  a  man  so 
self-contained  as  this  somewhat  Americanised  Irish  Priest 
Instances  without  number  might  be  adduced  in  vindi- 
cation ol  the  eulogium  thus  pronounced.     This  year  (18G7) 
a  young  girl  landed  at  Castle  Garden,  and  was  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  employment  the  same  day.     She  had  in 
her  possession  a  pound  in  gold,  and  some  shillings ;  and 
findmg  that  she  was  safely  provided  for,  she  determined 
to  send  back  the  money  to  her  mother,  to  whom  it  would 
be  of  great  assistance.     Her  employer,  seeing  her  so  well 
disposed,  advanced  her  a  month's  wages,   which  she  was 
dehghted  to  add  to  her  own  money ;  and  a  draft  was  pro- 
cured and   'mailed'   the  very  first  day  of  her  arrival  in 
America ! 

An  Irish  girl  in  Buffalo,  who  had  been  but  four  years  in 
the  country,  had  within  that  time  paid  for  the  passages 
ot  two  brothers  and  two  sisters,  besides  sending  40^. ;  and 
when  lately  sending  another  remittance  through  the' Irish 
Emigrant  Society  of  New  York,  she  said  she  'would  not 
rest  until  she  brought  out  her  dear  father  and  mother  ' 
winch  she  hoped  she  would  be  able  to  do  within  the  next 
SIX  months. 

In  populous  cities  the  women  send  home   more  money 
than  the  men ;  in  small  towns  and  rural  districts'  the  men 


j 

,  3 

M 


tf 


322 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


1%' 


^* 


are  a,s  constant  in  their  remittances,  and  perhaps  send 
larger  sums.  Great  cities  offer  too  many  temptations  to 
improvidence  or  to  vice,  while  in  small  places  and  rural 
districts  temptations  are  fewer,  and  the  occasion  for 
spending  money  recklessly  less  frequent ;  hence  it  is,  that 
the  man  who,  amidst  the  whirl  and  excitement  of  life  in  a 
gieat  city,  but  occasionally  sends  $10  or  $20  to  the  old 
people  at  home,  sends  frequent  and  liberal  remittances  when 
once  he  breathes  the  purer  air  of  the  country,  and  frees  him 
self  from  the  dangerous  fascination  of  the  drinking-saloon. 

Whether  the  money  is  given  as  the  price  of  the  passage 
out,  or  in  the  form  of  a  ticket  paid  for  in  America,  and  thus 
forwarded  to  Ireland,  or  is  sent  as  a  means  of  supj)lying 
some  wailt  or  relieving  a  pressing  necessity,  practically 
there  is  no  more  thought  of  it  by  the  donor.  It  not  un- 
frequently  happens  that  tickets  are  returned  to  the  donors, 
the  persons  to  whom  they  were  sent  having  changed  their 
minds,  being  unwilling  or  afraid  to  leave  the  old  country 
for  a  new  home.  But  the  money — recouped  through  a 
friendly  agent — is  almost  invariably  sent  back,  with  a  re- 
mark somewhat  in  this  form  :  '  I  intended  it  for  you  any 
way,  either  in  ticket  or  in  money ;  and  if  you  won't  take  it 
in  ticket,  why  you  must  in  money.  It  is  yours,  anyhow, 
and  no  one  else  is  to  have  it.' 

A  large  amount  is  finnually  cxjiended  in  the  purchase 
of  tickets  at  the  American  side ;  but  this,  large  as  it  is, 
bears  only  a  small  proportion  when  compared  with  the 
enormous  amount  sent  in  the  shape  of  assistance  to  rela- 
tives at  home.  For  instance,  there  was  sent  last  year 
(18GG)  by  one  firm  in  Lowell  $44,290;  and  of  this  amount 
$32,000  were  for  the  material  assistance  of  the  friends  at 
home,  and  but  $12,000  in  i^assage  tickets  out.  The  total 
amount,  though  small  in  comj)arison  to  the  vast  sums  sent 
from  the  great  cities,  is  still  not  a  little  surprising,  when  it 
is  considered  that  the  Irish  population,  consisting  for  the 
most  part  of  young  j)ersons  working  in  mills  and  factories, 


A  '  MERCENARY. 


823 


laps  send 
tations  to 
and  rural 
asion  for 
it  is,  that 
if  life  in  a 
D  the  old 
fices  when 
frees  him 
ig-saloon. 
le  passage 
,  and  thus 
supplying 
•ractically 
!t  not  un- 
le  donors, 
ged  their 
1  country 
hrougli  a 
^'ith  a  re- 
■  you  any 
ii't  take  it 
anyhow, 

purchase 
as  it  is, 
with  the 
3  to  rela- 
last  year 
s  amount 
friends  at 
The  total 
!ums  sent 
',  when  it 
g'  for  the 
factories, 


is  now  about  15,000.     From  another  emigration  agent  in 
the  same  place,  and  who  is  but  recently  in  the  business,  a 


says—'  Tlio 


striking  instance  of  liberality  is  obtained.     He  „.^  . 

most  I  received  at  any  one  time  was  20/.,  or  $140,"^  from  an 

industrious  Irish  girl  in  one  of  our  mills.' 

The  foUowing  instance  of  self-devotion,  though   not   at 
aU    of    uncommon   occurrence,    displays    in    a   stiU    more 
striking  manner  how  ready  these  humble  Irish  people- 
not  Scotch-Irish,  as  the  miserable  cant  of  the  day  has  it, 
but  Irish  Celts— are  to  make  every  sacrifice  for  those  they 
love.     A  poor  Irish  labourer  emigrated  to  America  in  18G1, 
in  the  hope  of  bettering  his  condition,  and  being  enabled,' 
by  hard  work,  to  bring  out  hi's  wife  and  seven  children,' 
whom  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave  after  him  in  Ireland! 
It  was  an  unpropitious  time  for  a  working  man,  as  the  war 
had  just  broken  out,  and  employment  was  scarce  in  many 
cities  of  the  Union.     All  he  required  was  an  opportunity 
to  work,  his  thoughts  being  for  ever  turned  to  the  old  land 
in  which  he  left  those  who,  he  knew,  looked  to  him  as  their 
only  hope.     For  a  time  he  was  discouraged  and  despond- 
ing, but  he  resolved  to  wait  awhile,  and  take  advantage  of 
any  opportunity  that  would  offer,  through  which  he  might 
be  enabled  to  achieve  his  grand  object— the  bringing  out 
of  his  wife  and  family.     The  opportunity  did  offe^^r  rather 
unexpectedly,  and   in   this  way— a  gentleman  who  prefer- 
red the  profits  of  a  lucrative  business  to  the  risks  of  war, 
desired  to  obtain  a  substitute,  who  would  take 'his  place 
for  three   years  under  the  banner  of  the  Union  ;  and  to 
secure  some  one  to  fight,  or  possibly  die,  in  his  place,  he 
was  wiUing  to  pay  down   One   Thousand    Dollars.     The 
poor   Irishman  heard  of  this  dazzling  offer,  and  at  once 
accepted  it.      The  money  was  paid  to  the  substitute,  by 
whom  it  was  thus  disposed  of  :  he  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  a  friend,  directing  him  to  send  part  to  Ireland,  to  bring 
out  his  family,  and  reserve  the  balance  to  meet  their  wants 
on  arrival— saying,  if  he  was  killed  in  battle,  or  if  he  died 


•ap=. 


mi 


324 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


* 


of  sickness,  lie  had  clone  the  best  thing  he  Cf  'Id  for  his 
wife  and  chihlren.  He  was  quickly  marched  to  the  front, 
where  the  hot  work  was  going  on ;  but  though  he  w^as  in 
many  a  hard-fought  battle,  and  saw  death  in  every  shape, 
he  passed  scatheless  through  the  dread  ordeal — steel  and 
lead  seemed  to  have  no  power  to  injure  him,  nor  did 
hunger  and  hardship  break  him  down.  He  returned  to 
his  family,  a  bronzed  war-worn  soldier,  and  is  now  a  hard- 
working honest  citizen  of  a  New  England  town.  Your 
scornful  '  Special  Correspondent '  would  no  doubt  have  set 
him  down  as  a  base  mercenary,  who  hired  himself  to  butcher 
his  fellow  men ;  but  such  was  not  the  opinion  of  those  to 
whom  the  facts  v/ere  known. 

The  gentleman — an  eminent  American  physician — to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  this  strong  proof  of  family  affec- 
tion, says  : — '  In  my  professional  visits  I  have  met  from 
time  to  time  many  instances  where  a  father  or  Aj,  child,  a 
brother  or  a  sister,  had  made  very  great  efforts  and 
sacrifices  to  have  enough  of  money  to  send  to  Ireland  to 
bring  out  one  or  more  members  of  their  families.  These 
are  noble  and  beautiful  examples  of  affection  and  disin- 
terestedness, that  have  occurred  in  the  obscure  and  humble 
life  of  the  Irish  emigrant  in  America,  that  cannot  be 
surpassed,  in  my  opinion,  anywhere  by  sketches  to  bo 
found  in  the  biography  of  individuals  or  the  history  of 
nations.'  The  civilised  world,  less  scornful  or  contemptu- 
ous than  certain  traducers  of  the  humble  Irish,  will  endorse 
that  opinion. 

Few  instances  of  this  '  affection  and  disinterestedness ' 
could  exceed  that  displayed  by  a  mere  child  from  Kil- 
kenny.    Pat  w^as  but   thirteen  years   old   when    he 

determined,  if  possible,  to  go  to  America,  having  heard 
that  he  had  an  uncle  who  lived  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 
His  id(!a  of  America  w^as  what  might  be  expected  from  a 
child  of  his  age, — his  notion  being,  that  every  boy  in  that 
favoured  country  was  his  own  master,  and  had  a  pony  to 


A  YOUNG  PIONEER. 


325 


ride  whenever  lie  wished  for  that  enjoyment.     His  motive 
in  urging  his  father  and  mother  to  consent  to  his  perilous 
enterprise  was  the  desire  to  make  his  fortune,  and  be  able 
to  bring  out  all  his  family,  and  make  them,  according  to 
the  story-book  formula,  'as  happy  as  the  days  are  long.' 
The   parents  of  the   boy  allowed   themselves   to   be   per- 
suaded by  him,  especiaUy  as  his  uncle  would  bo  certain 
to  receive  and  take  care  of  him  ;  and  a  steerage  passage 
at  New  Orleans  having  been  procured,  the  little  fellow 
started    on   liis    venturous    journey.       Landing    at    New 
Orleans,   he,   knowing  nothing   of  the   country,  imagined 
that  he  could  easily  walk  to  St.  Louis !    as  he  might  from 
Kilkenny  to  the  neighbouring  town.      Hearing  "that   the 
goal  of  his  hopes— the  city  in  which  his  uncle  Hved—was 
nearly  2,000  miles   distant,   he  was   sorely  afflicted.      He 
went  from  steamboat  to  steamboat,  asking  sailor,  steward, 
and  ca]3tain,  'did  they  know  his  uncle?   would  they  take 
him  to  St.  Louis?'  and  telling  them  his  name  was  Pat.' 

Sailors  and  stewards  and  captains  of  the  Mississippi  boats 
are  not  invariably  the  mildest  of  mortals ;  therefore  it 
must  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  eager  questions 
of  the  poor  Irish  boy  with  the  beseeching  eyes  were  more 
often  rephed  to  in  a  rough  and  surly  manner  than  other- 
wise. If  those  to  whom  he  applied  troubled  themselves  to 
think  of  him  at  aU,  it  was  as  a  foohsh  or  importunate  cub 
who  had  no  business  to  bother  them  with  his  stupid  non- 
sense. What  was  his  uncle  to  them?  or  did  they  care  a 
cent  whether  his  name  was  Pat  Blank  or  Pat  anything 
else  ?  He  was  bade  get  about  his  business,  and  that  quickly 
too.  The  child  began  to  sob  and  pray ;  and  as,  sobbing 
and  praying,  and  sorely  bewildered,  he  was  wandering  about 
the  levee,  he  was  remarked  by  a  kind-hearted  gentleman, 
who  asked  him  why  he  cried.  He  rephed  that  he  wanted 
to  go  to  his  uncle  in  St.  Louis,  and  that  no  one  would 
take  liim,  and  that  he  would  gladly  work  his  way.  Tlie 
meeting    was    providential,   for    there    was    not    on    the 


326 


TIIL  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Hf 


I\Iissi.ss]ppi  a  braver,  a  kinder,  or  a  better  man  than  Captain 
Duraok,  tlie  Irish  commander  of  one  of  the  finest  steamers 
chat  ever  ran  the  risk  of  a  sna-  or  a  blow-up.     Tlie  captain 
had  pitj  on  the  helpless  child,  and  took  him  into  his  boat 
>vhor(;  he  at  once  made  himself  useful.     In  fact,  such  was 
the  n-illmo-  spirit  and  gentle  disposition  of  the  little  fellow 
and  such  his  anxiety  to  oblige  everybody,  that  he  became 
a   general  favourite.       After   a  nine   days'   steaming,    the 
vessel  reached  St.  Louis,  where  Pat  landed,  high  in  hope, 
his  pockets   containing  more   monev  than   he    had    ever 
before  possessed,  the  passengers  having  hberally  rewarded 
his  wilhng  services.     He  found  his  uncle,  but  found  him- 
a  confirmed  drunkard,  fast  sinking  into  the  grave  which 
his   own   foUy  was    hourly  pro])aving  for   him.       Cruelly 
disappointed  in  the  hopes  he  had  so  fondly  cherished,  the 
boy  again  sought  his  friend  the  captain,  who  adopted  him, 
and  procured  for  him  the  appointment  of  assistant  steward 
in  1  steamboat  on  the  Upper  Mississippi ;  in  which  position, 
the  young  ofncial  earned  money  rapidly,  and  acquired  the 
good  wishes  of  all  who  knew  him.     His  friend  the  captain 
was  made  his  treasurer,  hkewiso  the  repository  of  his  hopes 
and  intentions  respecting  his  family  at  home.     For  them 
—his  father  and  mother,  his  brother  and  two  sisters— the 
boy  offered  up  many  a  fervent  prayer  ;    and  not   unfre- 
quently  was  he  observed  on  his  knees  under  the  wheel- 
house  absorbed  in  his  devotions.     The  boat,  on  arriving  in 
port,  would  remain  for  an  interval  of  a  week  or  so,  °and 
during  that  time  the  young  Irish  lad  would  attend  school, 
and  m  this  way  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education.   Whilo 
ho  was  thus  employed,  carefully  hoarding  his  monev,  and 
acquiring  by  snatches  some  of  the  learning  for  which  he 
eagerly  strove,  he  was   overwhelmed  with   the   sad   news 
that  reached  him  from  home,— that  his  father  and  mother 
were  both  dead,  and  that  his  brother  and  sisters  were  in 
tiie  workhouse !     He  was  so  affected  by  this  distressing  in- 
telhgcnce,  that  his  health  gave  way,  and  his  kind  protector 


A  POOR  IRISH  WIDOW. 


327 


the  captain  feared  lie  was  faUing  into  a  consumption.     The 
pious  boy  unburdoucd  liis  sorrows  to  a  good  priest  in  St. 
Louis,  who  cliocred  him  by  his  advice  and  sympatliy.     The 
vision  of  his  httle  brother  and  sisters— the  latter  only  einht 
and  ten  years  old—in  the   workhouse,  hnunted  him  day 
and  night.     To  rescue  them  from  that  degrading  position, 
and  bring  them  out  as  soon  as  possible,  was  now  the  great 
duty   of  his  hfe;    and    with   this    additional   motive   for 
economy,  every  cent  he  could  save  was  entrusted  to  the 
care  of  his  patron   and  treasurer   the   captain.     He   sent 
20/.  to  an  uncle  in  Ireland,  to  pay  for  the  passages  and 
outfit  of  his  brother  and  sisters,  reserving  something  for 
their  support  on  their  arrival.     Having  achieved  that*' first 
grand  work,  he   next  turned  his    attention  to  the  object 
of  his  fondest  ambition— the  Priesthood  ;  and  he  resolved, 
if  possible,  at  once  to  commence  the  studies  necessary  for 
that   sacred   calling.     He   presented   himself  to   the   then 
Superior  of  the  CoUege  of  St.  Mary,  of  the  Barens,  Mis- 
souri, to  whom  he  confided  his  touching  history  and  his 
l)assionate   longing  for   a  religious  hfe.     The   good  Irish 
priest  was  deeply  impressed   by  the  simple    recital,   and 
gave  the  lad  a  free  place  in  the  seminary.     The  zealous 
student  soon  went  through  aU  his  studies,  was  ordained  a 
priest,  and  became  one  of  the  most  efficient  missionaries 
of  the   diocese   of  St.  Louis.      The  children,  whom  their 
brother's  love  had  rescued  perhaps  from  a  life  of  poverty, 
arrived    safely  ;    the    infant    sisters   were    adopted   by   a 
community  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  the  same  diocese,  and 
the  brother  is  a  respectable  member  of  one  of  the  learned 
professions. 

An  instance  of  the  courage  and  energy  which  a  mother's 
affection  inspires  may  be  given  in  the  simple  language  of 
the  poor  woman  who  tells  the  artless  story  of  her  trials, 
the  family  were  well  off  so  long  as  the  husband  lived  ; 
Ijut,  when  he  died,  the  widow  was  compelled  to  accept  a 
few  pounds  in  lieu  of  valuable  improvements  which  her 


W 


I 


328 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


mm 


m 


linsband  had  eiibcted  on  two  farms.  Left  with  four  chih 
dron,  and  seeing  lier  Httle  fund  diminishing  day  b:  day 
and  dreading  that  the  poor-house  would  be  their  fate  if 
slie  did  not  make  some  desperate  effort  to  save  them  from 
such  a  calamity,  she  resolved  to  start  for  America  herself 
and  there,  by  hard  work,  earn  as  much  as  would  brin- 
them  out ;  and  this  'determination  she  resolutely  acted 
upon.  Telhng,  in  happier  times  of  her  past  trials,  sLe 
used  these  words  : — 

'Oh,  it  would  break  the  heart  of  a  stone  to  see  my  four 
httle    children  on   the  road,  crying  after  me.     My  heart 
sure  enough,  was  near  breaking  with  the  sorrow  that  day' 
I  ran  as  hard  as  I  could  away  from  them,  for  they  cried  and 
bawled  ;    and  it  was   "  Oh,  mammy,  mammy !     Oh,  don't 
lave  us!      Oh   come    back,   mammy,   mammy!"— it  went 
through  and  through  me  like  a  swoord.     I  had  to  look 
back,  no  matter  though  I  tried  not  do  so,  and  I  thou-ht 
the  seven  senses  would  jump  out  of  my  two  eyes.     Poor 
httle  Patsey  was  then  about  four  years  old,  and  he  ran 
after  me,  and  cried  "Mammy,  mammy!"  bigger  than  the 
rest.      Sure  my  legs  couldn't  carry  me  any  farther.      He 
kissed  me,  and  asked  me  to  give  him  another  penny  •  he 
didn't  know  where  I  was  going  to,  or  how  long  I'd  be 
away,  poor  darling.     This  broke  my  heart  entirely-I  de- 
clare to  you  I  don't  know  how  I  got  away  from  them-it 
was  like  a  bad  drame  to  me.     WeU,  we  landed  in  Quebec 
and  I  didn't  know  a  sowl  on  God's  earth,  but  a  neighbour's' 

boy  of  my  own  ;  and  sure  I  thought  that  N (meaning 

a  place  nearly  a  thousand  miles  away)  was  the  next  plouo-lf- 
land  to  Quebec!     They  put  me  in  a  boat,  and  I  felt  as  if  it 

took  us  months  to  come  to  N ,  for  I  was  nearly  perished 

w.th  the  could  and  the  hunger.     Sure  the  cattle  passen-ers 
ai-e  treated  better  than  the  Christians.     When  I  came  to 

^ ,  I  lived  with  a  farmer.     I  worked  hard  all  the  day 

and  cried  the  most  of  the  night.     No  wonder,  for  I  was 
waiast  fuU  and  comfoi  table  at  home,  with  my  cows    and 


SELF-SACRIFICE. 


821 


th  four  chil- 
diiy  b;  day, 
tlioir  fate  if 
e  them  from 
rica  herself, 
.voiild  briiifj- 
lutely  acted 
t  trials,  Bt'i 

see  my  four 
My  heart, 
w  that  day. 
sy  cried  and 
Oh,  don't 
" — it   went 
ad  to  look 
.  I  thought 
syes.     Poor 
md  he  ran 
r  than  the 
L'ther.     He 
penny  ;  he 
»ng  I'd   be 
•ely— I  de- 
a  them — it 
in  Quebec, 
eighbour's 
■  (meaning 
xt  plough- 
felt  as  if  it 
y  perished 
passengers 
I  came  to 
1  the  day. 
for  I  was 
cows,  and 


m}  pigs,  and  my  horses,  till  my  husl)and  died— God  rest 
his  sowll     But,  bcgonnies,  in  throe  months  I  was  able  to 
send  home  for  the  ouldcst  little   girl— she  was  only  nine 
years  of  age.     When   she   came   out,  it  warmed  my  poor 
heart ;  but  she  was  a  great  care  to  me— I  had  to  pay  $J: 
a  month  for  her  boord,  and  that  was  hard  enough.     After 
a  time  I  says  to  myself,  "this  will  never  do  ;   paying  $1  a 
month  won't  help  me  to  bring  out  the  rest  of  the  children, 
poor  things ;"  so  I  went  and  looked  out  for  another  place,' 
and  God  sent  me  one.     I  hired  as  a  cook,  and  the  httfe  girl 
was  taken  to  nurse  the  babby  for  her  boord.     I  took  great 
courage  then  entirely,  and  in  half  a  year  more  I  sent  for 
another  of  the  children.     But  I  axed  the  priest— who  was 
from  my  own  place  at  home— to  lend  me  the  loan  of  the 
passages  for  the  other  two,  and  I  would  pay  him,  as  sure  as 
the  Lord  was  in  heaven.     He  did,  sure  enough,  trust  me 
with  the  money,  and  so  he  might :  and  may  the  Heavens 
be  his  bed  for  that  same,  amen!     The  three  landed  safe 
into  my  arms ;   then  I  felt  I  was  a  happy  woman— and  I 
cried   that  night  at  my  prayers— but  it  was  not  like  the 
scalding  tears  on  the  road,  when  I  was  laving  them,  and 
every  step  was  like  tareing  the   heart   clane   out   of  me: 
them  tears,  that  night,  did  me  good.     The  children  were 
soon  able  to  earn  for  themselves,  and  now,  thanks  be  to 
the  Lord!  we  are  all  comfortable  and  happy — no  thanks 
to   the  villain  of  a  landlord  for  that  same  ;   and  the  big 
boy,  the  Lord  mark  him    co  grace!   is  now  able  to  read 
his  fine  books  of  Greek  and  Latin,  and  knows  more  than 
Murty  Dermody,  the  schoolmaster  in  our  parts.     Oh,  the 
liealth  was  a  grand  thing ;  that  and  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
^•lory  be  to  his  holy  name !  got  me  through ;  for,  if  I  had 
a  pain  or  an  ache,  the  fear  would  come  on  me — and  what 
would  become  of  the  children  ?     'Twas  hard  work  enough ; 
but  sure  the  Lord  fits  the  back  to  the  burthen.' 

'It  would  be  quite  impossilile/  said  a  Sister  of  Mercy 
of  New  York,  'to  relate  half  the  instances  of  heroic  sa- 


J30 


Tin:  lUISII  IN  AMKRIGA. 


crificGS  iniulo  for  parcntH 


or  other  rolativeH  by  Irish  Lnrls 


ut   como   to   our  kno^vlod^.e.'     Not  tho  loss  heroic,  that 
.    Uiey   arc   entirely   diveHted   of    dramatic   interest   or   sen- 
sutional  attraction.     Hannah  Finn,  a  poor  «-irl  from   tho 
county  of  Lnnerick,  was  not  just  the  person  or  the  tyne 
a  novehst  or  a  poet  would  have  chosen  for  story  or  tbr 
verse ;  and  y(>t  her  life  was  one  of  the  most  complete  self- 
Harn hce.     At   home   she  had  toiled   on   a  farm,  and   was 
therelore  unaccustomed  to  house-work  ;  yet,  on  her  arrival 
in  New  lork,  whither  she  came  in  order  that  she  mi-lit 
more  etiectually  assist  the  old  p(,>ople  whom  she  could  not 
bnno-  with  her,  she  hired  herself  as  'cook's  helper'  in  one 
ot  Its  hotc"ls,  prefcuTino-  that  situation  to  an  easier  place, 
that  she  nnn-ht  earn  higher  wages,  and  thus  hav«.  more  to 
send  to  her  parents,  to  whoso  condbrt  she  devoted  hw  life 
Iwice   a  year  she  sent   to   them   a]\  the  money   she  had 
saved,  and  always  to  the  care  of  the  parish  priest.     In  tho 
midst  of  her  hard  patient  toil  she  received  the  sad  tidings 
o±  her  father  being  obliged  'to  leave  tho  land,'  at  which 
her  heart  was  sorely  troubled.     But   she   only  toiled   the 
harder,  and  saved  the   more.     On  the  next  occasion  she 
was  sendmg  money,  the  Sister  wlio  wrote  the  letter  for 
her  wished  to  direct  it  to  the  place  indicated  by  the  o-hTs 
mother-tho   village    to   which    tho    landless    couple  "had 
removed ;  but  Hannah  persisted  in  sending  it  to  tho  care 
of  her  former  pastor,  declaring  that  she  would  not  send  a 
penny  of  her  money  to  any  one  else.     She  contiinied  to  send 
her   earnings   regularly  home  as  long  as   the   old  people 
lived;  and  soon  after  their  death—her  mission  beiim-  now 
accomphshed-she  herself  died  of  dropsy.     To  the  charity 
of  others  she  was  indebted  for  assistance  during  her  last 
illness,  she  having  given  everything  to  her  parents,  and 
reserved  nothing  for  herself.     Tho  story  of  Hannah  Fii  n 
the  poor  county  Limerick  girl,  the  patient  drudge  in  the 
Aew  York  kitchen,  is  that  of  many  an  Irish  girl  in  America 
to  which   they  have   emigrate.]   rather  with   the   purpose 


THE  AMOUNT  S.'NT. 


381 


Irish  girls 
loroic,  that 
st  or  scu- 

from  tho 
r  tho  t}  po 
iory  or  for 
iploto  Holf- 
,  and  wuH 
her  arriviil 
Hho  uiiolit 

could  not 
or '  in  one 
sior  2)hice, 
o  nioro  to 
d  ]i(;r  life. 
'  she  hiid 
t.  In  tho 
!:id  tidings 

at  which 
soiled  the 
asion  yhe 
letter  for 

the  gii-ra 
iiple    liad 

tho  care 
ot  send  a 
d  to  send 
d  people 
Bing  now 
:e  charity 

her  last 
mts,  and 
ah  Fii.n, 
l"e  in  tlio 
America, 

purijose 


of    helping  those   at  home  than  of    advancing   their   own 
fortunes. 

AVlien  a  passage  is  paid  for  by  an  Irish  emigrant  to 
bring  out  a  member  of  tho  family,  it  is  the  custom,  wlien 
s(!nding  tho  ticket,  to  accompany  it  with  a  few  pounds  to 
defray  incidental  expenses. 

As  a  rule,  those  Avho  are  newly-como  S(>nd  moro  and 
make  greattu*  sacrifices  to  bring  out  their  relatives,  or  to 
assist  them  ac  home,  than  those  who  have  Ixsen  longer  in 
iho  country  :  the  wjints  of  tho  family  in  the  old  country 
are  more  vividly  present  to  the  mind  of  the  recent  emi- 
grant, and  perhaps  tho  ailecitions  are  warmer  and  stronger 
than  in  after  years,  when  time  and  distance,  and  tlie  cares 
or  distractions  of  a  now  existence,  have  insensibly  dulled 
tho  passionate  longings  of  yore.  J3ut  thousands— many, 
many  thousands— of  Irish  girls  have  devoted,  do  devote, 
and  will  devote  their  lives,  and*  sacrifice  every  woman's 
liope,  to  tho  holiest,  because  the  most  unselfish,  of  all  affec- 
tions— that  o '  family  and  kindred. 

'I  would  say,  from  my  own  experience,  as  agent  and 
otherwise,'  remarked  an  agent  in  a  New  England  State, 
that  emigration  will  never  cease  with  Irish  families,  as 
long  as  any  portion  of  them  remain  at  each  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  as  long  as  those  at  this  side  find  means  to 
send  for  those  they  left  behind— or  so  long  as  tho  Irish 
nature  remains  what  it  is ;  and  I  must  say  I  can't  see  much 
change  in  it  as  yet.' 

That  the  amount  of  money  sent  from  America,  includ- 
ing the  British  provinces  to  Ireland,  cannot  be  far  from 
21,000,000/.  I  feel  assured.  The  Commissioners  of  Emi- 
gration, in  their  report  of  18G3,  return  the  amount  as 
12,G  12,000/.  J3ut  they  say  it  would  not  be  unreasonable  to 
estimate  the  amount,  of  wliic-h  there  are  no  returns,  as  half 
«>■  much  again  as  that  of  which  there  are  returns.  Taking  this 
rather  moderate  estimate,  tho  gross  amount  to  the  close  of 
18G2  would  reach  19,000,000/.      That  at  least  a  million  a 


•I 


332 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


year  has  been  sent  Hinco  tlioii,  muHt  bo  asHiunod  For 
lust  your — 18()()— tho  CommiHsionors  put  down  tho  uniount 
at  loHs  than  liiilf  u  million.  But  I  am  awaro  that,  for  tliat 
year,  one  bank  or  society  in  Now  York— tho  IriHh  Emi- 
grant Society— romitted  over  1(K),()()0/.  to  Ireland,  and 
tliat  some  130,000/.,  was  sent  by  agents  in  Boston  whom 
I  could  name.  Hero,  tlion,  is  more  than  half  tho  entiro 
amount  of  which  tho  Commissioners  have,  any  official 
knowled«(e.  In  many  cities  I  personally  know  bankers  or 
agents  who  sent  amounts  varying  from  20,000/.  to  30,000/.; 
and  there  is  scarcely  a  placo  of  any  importance,  or  in 
which  there  is  an  Irish  population,  however  inconsider- 
able, from  which  some  contribution  does  not  go  to  tho 
old  country,  for  ono  purpose  or  another.  If,  then,  we  add 
a  million  a  year  to  tho  nineteen  miUions  estimated  by 
the  Emigration  Commissioners,  wo  have,  up  to  tho  1st  of 
January  1808,  the  amazing  sum  of  24,000,000/.  sent  by  the 
Irish  abroad  to  their  relatives  at  home.*  In  the  history 
of  the  world  there  is  nothing  to  match  this.  It  is  a  fact 
us  glorious  as  stupendous,  and  may  well  stand  against  the 
sneers  and  calumnies  of  a  century. 

•  Reaittanccs  from  the  Irish  in  Aii'tralla  must  be  included  in  the  grosa  result 


10(1.  For 
10  amount 
it,  for  tliat 
null  Eiui- 
laiul,  and 
ton  whom 
iio  cntiro 
ay  official 
)!iiilverH  or 
0  30,000/.; 
ICO,  or  in 
iconsicler- 
go  to  the 
n,  we  add 
natcd  by 
lio  1st  of 
nt  by  the 
le  history 
is  a  fact 
jaiust  the 

3S8  result 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Cliaraclor  of  frish  Wcinon  in  A..UTica~Aii  U.nvolcome 
I5aj)tism-llie  Universal  TcHliniony-Shadows-lVnls  to  Fe- 
male Virtue-  -Irish  Ciirls  ;  their  Value  to  the  lluce. 

A     QUESTION  of  unsiioakablo  imi)ortanco  may  bo  thus 
X\    put,— is  it  true  that  Irish  women  maintain  in  America 
their   traditional  reputation    for   virtue?      Unhesitatingly, 
it  must  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.     Whatever  estimate 
Aniericans  may  form  of  their  Irish  felhnv-citizcns,  be  that 
estimate   favoural)le   or  unfavourable,    there    is    but    one 
opinion  as  to  the  moral  character  of  Irish  women.     Their 
reputation  for  purity  does  not  rest  on  the  boastful  asser- 
tions of  those   who   either   regard  all  matters  concerning 
their  race  or  country  from  a  favourable  point  of  view,  or 
who,  to  gratify  a  natural  feeling,  would  wilfully  exaggerate, 
or  possibly   misstate   a  fact:    it   is   universally    admitted! 
Were  it  otherwise— were  this  reputation  not  well-founded, 
sad  indeed  would  be  the  calamity  to  the  Irish  in  America,' 
—to   their   character,    position,    future— to    them   and   to 
their  descendants.     Happily,  no  such  calamity  is  hkely  to 
befall  the  Irish  in  America,  as  the  loss  to  the  Irish  woman 
of    her  pre-eminent   reputation   for    purity    and    honour. 
Prejudices,  strong  prejudices,  there  are  in  the  States,  hb  in 
all  countries  in  which  divei-sity  of  race  and  religion  exists  ; 
find  where  tliis  diversity  comprehends  race  and  religion  in 
the  same  individuals,  these  prejudices  are  certain  to  be  the 
stronger  and  the  more"  deeply  rooted.     The  Irish  CathoHo 


:i:ti 


Till':  IIIISII   IN  AMKIIICA. 


luiM  I 


O  ('t>IU«Ml(|   (IJ'IIIMnI 


lllH   ( 


lottl.l 


(Im<I 


O     |>f<'jll(llCO 


w 


liici 


r.sM    iM   not   |>(»\vt>l  rill   ('iioil;,;li    lo    iiilcrj 


(•l'(^     Willi 


1    lirvor- 
li(>  con 


vu'Ikhi.  iiuJrtMJ  mliiiissi.u 


1.  MM  lo  \\u\  monij  <'lmrMclrr  ol'  || 


in 


uoiiHMi    of    IIimI    cniiiilrv    iiiKJ    lliiil.    riiilh.      Tl 


l(*     IXKir      IliNJl 


♦  'till' 'I 


.!"> 


Hit 


Mpiij'il 


■Mill.  <;irl  luiiv  poMsihJv  Im«  rii(|('.  iiiitiiHriiiliiicd,  a,\vl<\VMi\l 
Mniv.'.l    ill    a,    ulniiifit^    I-ihI,    wilh    nil     IIk^    ni.>'.r,,,| 


V   of   JuM-  pcMMdiiCs  Iniiiiiiio';  hul,  sli<^   is  >uhh\  mjkI 


li.Mi.'sl.       Nor,  MS   NJK^  rMpiillv  Mrt|uin's  lli<«  i«>liiirinciil,  m- 
NoparaMi*  iVotu  an    iin|>n>v(«»l    conililion    of   \\\'v,    and    daily 
iiMsocialion    willi    p,.,.plo  of    .Millivalcd    niann.TM.    docs   ,s|,n 
nilcli    llio  fonlM''io!i    ol'  llu>   vi.vs  oi    i\\v   oival.  <>(>nln's   of 
Ut^allh    and    lii\iirv.       NVIuilcvia-    licr    posi(i,.n.     and    i|.    is 
priiu'ipalh  anioiui'sl.  Ili,<   hmnhh*    walks   ..f  lif,-    ||„.  ,,,„ss   (.f 
Iho    Irish    aro    slill    lo   1.,.    round.     sli,>    niainlains    lliis  oii(« 
uol.U^  cliaracUM-islic      pmily.      I  n  doin,«.s(i,- service  Ikm-  nicril, 
is  t'lillv  rrc»».;,iiis,-d.     Oucv  salislifd   ,,f  (|„>   ovniiiiKMicss  ol' 
Itor     t-haracl.M\     an     .\nu«iiran     rainilv     will     Inisl.     in     lirr 
iinplii'illv  :    and    iiol,   only    is    llicn*    ii(»    lockin-v  np  aoainsl, 
luM-,  iMit  <M('rytliin.;'  is   l,>ti    in   her  chari-v.      Occasionally  slio 
may  "l»o   liol    liunpiMcd.   dilViciilt   (o  ho   mana-vd.    pt>rli'aps  a, 
litllo  'lurhnUMil"     t>sp,vialk   vyluMi   her  coiinlry   is  siitvivd 
Mt.  .M-  luM-  faith   is  wanlonly   ridicuNni  ;   hul   .sli(>  is  cli(>(>i-ful 
and  laboiioiis,  yirtiioiis  and  faithful. 

An    instanct^    o{'    ycrv    Ic-ilinialc    '  lurbuliMicc '    occiinvd 
not    \o\\iX    sinc(>    in    i>iu>    oi    iUc   niosf    risin,^-    of    lh,>    oiv;,(, 
AVoslorn  cities.     TIumv  liy,>d.  as  a    '  lu^Ip/  in  (he  lioiis,>  o\' 
a   Prolt^stanl   faniik.   an   inlclji-cnl   and   hio-h-spirit.MJ    Irish 
^jirl.   rciiiarkal»lt>   (ov  her  .Acniplary   conducl,   and   (li,«   /,,>al 
with    Nvhich    she   dischar.>vd    tho   dulics   of    ht-r    ])osilion. 
Kate   acted  as  a   mother  lo    a    vouiio-   brotluu-  and    sisler, 
whom  siie  was  brino-ino-  up  ^vitii  llio  oToatost,  care;  and  a 
happy    oir!    was    Katt>  >yhen   she  receiytnl    --ood    lidino-s   of 
their  pro-ivss  in   knowled-e   and   piety.      Kate.    lik,>   niany 
other  ptH.pIe  nx   the    world,    had   her   special  lormenl,   anil 
(hat    spev'ial   tonuent    was   a   i>layful-miiuh>d   preaclu-r   who 
Visited  at  the  house,  and  who  looked  upon   '  r>rid.»et '  -  ho 


AN  IINWKI.OOMI-;  HAI'TLSM. 


83ft 


I  ll     I  ll(>    COM 

itclcr  <»i'  i\\o 

|><»«>r   Ii-jhIi 

'<l,  ."iwkwnivl 

iiKMiiciii.   ill 

,    Mild    (1,'iilv 

<,     (Iocs    slid 

<'('iilrrs   of 

Mild     i(.    is 

ll«'    IIIMSS    of 

IS    (his  oii»« 
<"  Ikm'  iiicril, 

lilMMICSH    of 
IS|.      ill       luT 

ii|)  Mpiiiisl, 
^ioiiMllv  slio 

pt'lllllps  M, 

is  siu>»'r(>d 
is  fli(H>rful 

(X'ciirrcd 

Mi(>    f^rcnf. 

'   house  of 

i-iltMl    Irish 

d   (he   /,(>;il 

I'osiiioii. 
iiid  sis{(>r, 
kVO  ;  Mild  ;l 
lidiiii^-s  of 
like   iii;iiiy 

lU'llI,     Mild 

K'licr  who 
dyct'  -  ho 


)ri>nh/  ciill   Ih'I-    |{ri(|...(.|, 


MS  M.  I'mIi-  hiili  for  j,| 


his     pIcMSMIll,     wil,     of     \vl|ic| 


IC    <'\<'l'(tlS(!    () 


KmI(^'s  diifv  (,,)  uMciid   l,id)l(-  ;  mid 


I    iin   WMs  jiislly    proud.      ||,   wjtM 


no  sooiHT  did   i;]\('  tnnU 


'"''■     "IM»<'"''""('<>     III     (li(^     diiiiii.;-n,oiM,     |h;u,     Mm,     playful 
picMchn-  (•oiiiinciici'd   hin  usiimI  U\i\,  whid 


llM.f 


I     \V(»II 


Id 


III 


Ihis  fiishioii  :    '  W'v.U,    {{rid.-vl,,   i„y  oj,.]  t   ^y\ 


IX'.  HOIIK!" 


ICM     ( 


lid 


Noii  pniy  hisl,  (,o  Wus  Vir-iii  Mur.y  V     Tdl  me,  {{rid.,,,!,,  vvl 
were    you    Willi    I'^ifhci-    Vuit       \\'\\n.{,   did 
I5rid.';((l,?      W'IimI,  did   lh(.  old   r,.|| 


i(;lt 


.you    {^nvo    liMii, 


ihis  lime  ?      N( 


ow  mhIv  for  i,li(!  jil)Hoiiil 


lOII 


»W,   I   <;UCM.M   i(,  WMH  fell   (•(MliH  for  il|(.  HMUlll   sillH 


•■""'    ''M    '"'»'■   ""^    ihuiiip<TH!      Coiiio    now,    IJrid^r,,f,    U,\\    ,,10 
IxniiiKM!  did   IIimI,   pricsl,  of  yours  <qv(!   yoiiV     Thus 


hM,l. 


would  Mio  M}.';n'<'!il)l()  jcslcr  jx'K,  Uki  jmxh-  IriH]»  </i\-\  vvil.li  I 
;;(Mi(>rous  pl(^'lHlUlll•i<•s,  lo  ilui  uiiiusciMcni,  of  tho  ihou'dilJ 


lis 


(!SS, 


iMll 


II0I 


llU<! 


Im>  serious  Miiiio_vMii('(^  of  Mie  f.'iir-iuiiidcd,  who  did 
lo  SCO  her  IVcliiios  ho  wiiniouly  woiindiid.  The; 
iiiislress  of  Iho  house  mildly  reiiiousl,riii('d  with  luir  w.v- 
VMiii's  lively  ((.rnieiil(u-,  IJiou-^h  she  dj<|  ii,,j,  herself  aditiire 
'  l5ri(l;^«*|,'H.'    foi'iu    of    prM-yer,    jiiid 


'l'\'i(li<>r  I»m,I;h'm,1)so1u( 
]\\d  iho  wil,  should   hM,ve 


was    vvillin;^'-   io    icy^-.a-d 
•n  MS  M,  iiiM,(,l(M-  of  l)ar<>iiiii  and  salo. 


liis 


WM,y. 


Iirid«''ofc  '  WMH  ii  liand- 


oiiie  <rirl,  Mild  l.lie  nx^nv.  liked  io  see  ilie  (ire  kindle  in   1 


f!r 


>;voy  vyo,  jind    ili(>  hoi,  Mood  luaiiil 


rlieek  ;    und   ihen    ilie  iMU-^hlcr   (»f  his   ad 


(!   over  lier   I'Mir   i-oiind 


deli-hlful 


imrei-K   was  such 


mceiise 


how   su('('(»ssfully    ill 


io    his    VMiiiiy,   as   jieal   aficir   jMial   ioid 


On  oii(>  luemorabh*  day,   how 


<^   in<M»rjM<'il)l<>    wa^-  '  i-oasied    ]ii-id<'(!i. 


i)\'or,  hJH  lovo  of  the  humor 


)inpaiiy  was  as- 


oiis  carricHl  him    jusi  too  far.      A  lar<^n3  (•( 
seml)l(>d  round  Uw  hospitahlo  iahlo  of  the  m^isiross  of  the 
lioiis(>.     ^JMi(>  pn>Mcher  was  ])r(!seiii,  and  was  brinmiiiij,M)vor 
with  morrimoiii.     Kaio  eniorod  tlio  room,  1 


)oariii'>-  a  larL''(5 


liire(Mi  of  sieMiniiij^r  soup  in  lier  liands.     'Ho,  lio,  J3rid<--et! 


how 


Mi(^  you,    Hridovi?      W<>ll,   Urid-ci,   wliai   did 


i'Mv    l'\i(li(>r    I»Mi   for  ahsoluiiou   lliis  i 
Brid- 


you 


I  UK!?     {,-omo  to  me, 
Jndget,   and    I  will  oive  you  as  many   dollars  as  will  mt 
you  all  straight  uiih  llui  old  fellow  for  the  next  wix  mcmths, 


■i^i 


S36 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


and  sctilo  your  .iccouiit  Avilli  pnrj'utoi'y  too.     Now,  Bri(lo(>t, 
Icll  lis  liow  many  cciitH  for  cich  sinV     Tli<^   </\r\  luul  jiisi, 
rcacluHl  ilio  in-cacluM-iis  lui  riiii,sli(>(l  liis  litllo  joko  ;  and  il" 
he  wislicd  lo  sco  ilic  Irisli  (»yo  lla.sh  out  its  li^^lit,  and   tlio 
]risli  blood  huvu  in  tlu\  dieclv,  lie  had  an  {^\(H>ll('nt  o])|)()i  . 
iuniiy  for  onjoyin"-  iliat  treat.     It  wuh  Jirid-^ct's  turn   lo 
1)0  itliiyful.     Sloi)j)in«jf  noxt  to  liis  chair,  and  looking-  liim 
stoa(hly  in   hi.s  face,  Avliilo  she  grasped  tho  tureen  of  rich 
^•r(H>n-pca  Houp  ni(n-o  lirinly  in  her  hands,  she  naid  :    '  Now, 
sir,   I  oftiMi  askeil  you  to  h'avo  nio  alone,  and  not  mind 
m(\,  and  not   to  insult  mo  or   my  roli^icm,  what  no  real 
j>-ontleman  wimld  do  to  a  poor  j^irl ;  and  now,  sir,  as  you 
want  to  know  Avhat  I  pay  for  absolution,  hero's  my  an- 
swer !  '  and,  suitino-  Iho  aelion  to  the  Avord,  she  ilung  the 
hot  steaniino-  litpiid  over  the  face,  nock,  breast — ontiro  per- 
son—of the  })lMyt'ul  preaeher!     A  '  header '  in  one  of  Mr. 
Boucieinilt's  dramas  eonld  not  liavo  produced  a  more  start- 
ling- elVect  than  did  this  unexpcH'ted  baptism.     Tho   con- 
dition  of  the  preaeher  nniy  best  bo  described  as  abject: 
morally  as  W(>11  as  [)hysieiilly,  he  was  overwhelmed.     Kah* 
rushed  to  h(>r  room,   locked  herself   in,   and  rehovcd  her 
excitement  in  a  cry— ^  as  if  lu^r  lu^art  wonld  bre.;k.'     In  a 
short  time  her  mistress  tapped  at  tho  door,  told  her  to 
come  out,  that  all  was  right,  and  that  Mr.  Blank  was  sorry 
tliat  he  had  annoyed  her — as,  no  doubt,  he  was.     Tho  sen- 
timent— tho  o-enerous  American  sentiment — was  in  Kate's 
favour,  as  she  niioht  have  perceived  in  the  manner  of  the 
j>uests.     For  the  jioor  preacher,  it  may  bo  said  that  tho 
soup  '  spoiled  his  dinner  '  for  that  day.     Ho  did  not  make 
his  appearance  aoain  for  some  time ;  but  when  ho  did,  it 
was   as   an  alt(u-ed   and   much-improved  g-entlem  in,   who 
apiH\'ired  to  have  lost  all  interest  in  tho  religions  pecu- 
harities  of  Kate,   whom,  strange   to   say,  lie   never  inoro 
callinl  by  thi^  name  of  ]5ridget.     The  warm  bath,  so  vigor- 
ously  a(hninist(n-ed,    had    done   him    much    service — Kate 
saiil,  *  a  power  of  good.' 


()\v,  Bii(l<^(\t, 
(\v\  liiul  jusi, 
<)]v(;  ;  iiiul  if 

^••lli,  !U1(1  11|(! 
'llcilt,   ()])|)<)| 

H'Vh  turn  lo 
lookiii<^'  liiiu 
vevn  of  rich 
[lid  :  '  Now, 
(1  not  iiiiiul 
hilt  no  real 
,  .sir,  jiH  you 
ro's  my  uu- 
lic  flung  tlui 
—entire  per- 

one  of  Mr. 

more  stiirt- 
Tho   coii- 
l  !is  jibjecit : 
mod,     Kat(3 
•elieved  lior 
L*e;!k.'     In  ii 
told  her  to 
k  was  sorry 
.     The  SOU- 
LS in  Kate's 
nner  of  the 
id  that  the 
[1  not  make 
1  he  did,  it 
em  an,   who 
>-ions  pet'u- 
lever   moro 
h,  so  vig'or- 
■vieo — Ivalo 


THE  (GRANDEST  TESTIMONY  OF  ALL. 


I'th 


337 


When  once  her 
trust  is  plac(>d  i.i  the  Irish  girl.  Tlierc^  an,  thousands  of 
ii<>us(!s  m  tlio  Uuit(Ml  States  in  whic.h  everything  is  left  to 
licr  charge  and  under  her  control;  and,' unless  iji  some 
rare  Hlstane(^s,  in  which  fanaticism  is  more  than  a  match 
for  common  sense,  the  more  devoted  she  is  to  the  practi(u>s 
of  her  religion,  the  more  she  is  respected  and  eonfich-d  in 
hy  those  with  whom  sh(3  liv(!S.  Occasional  betrayals  of 
trust  there  may  be,  for  humanity  is  not  perfc(;t ;  but  as  a 
rule,  broad  and  sw(!eping,  confidonee  and  kindness  are  re- 
warded with  unswerving  fidelity. 

In  the  hotels  of  America  the  Irish  girl  is  admittedly 
iiulispensable.  Through  the  ord(!al  of  these  iiery  furnaces 
of  temptation  she  passes  unscathed.  Thenj,  wliero  honesty 
and  good  conduct  are  m^st  essential,  she  is  found  ccpial 
to  the  test,  while;  in  checn-ful  wilhng  inihistry  none  can 
sm-pass  her.  Such  is  the  testimony  which  is  readily  borne 
to  the  Irish  girl  in  every  State  of  the  Unioji. 

I  rcmembcir  asking  one  of  the  best-known  hotel  proprie- 
tors of  Americia,  why  it  was  that  aU  the  young  women 
ni  the  establishment  were  Irish,  and  his  replying— 'The 
thing  is  very  simple:  the  Irish  girls  are  industrious, 
willing,  cheerful,  and  honest— they  work  hard,  and  they 
are  strictly  moral.  I  should  say  that  is  (piite  reason 
enough.'    I  agreed  with  him. 

There  are  testimonies,  also,  borne  to  her  in  a  very  differ- 
ent spirit,  but  e(pially  honouring— those  extorted  from 
the  bafHed  tempter,  who  finds  all  his  arts  of  seduction  fail 
before  the  seven-fold  shield  of  an  austerity  as  imexpected 
as  unwished-for.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  one 
who  has  failed  in  his  attempts  against  the  honour  of  an 
Irish  girl  to  warn  his  companions  from  a  similar  foUy— 
'Oh,  hang  her!— don't   lose   your   time   with   her;   she  is 

one  of  those  d d  Irish  girls-the  priest  has  a  hold  of 

her— she  goes  to  conf,,ssion,  and  all  that  kind  of  nonsense 
—don't  lose  your  time,  for  it's  no  use.'     Quite  true  :  tcmi)- 

15 


^3 


.-A 


i.  iJI 


888 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■-'4'* 


tations  assail  her  in  vain ;   in  her  faith  and   i^iety  she  ia 
invincible. 

The   Irish   woman    is    naturally  religious;    the  fervent 
character  of  her  mind  is  adapted  to  devotional  enthusiasm ; 
and  in  the  practices  of  her  faith  she  finds  occupation  for 
her  leisure  time,  as  well  as  strength  for  her  soul  and  con- 
solation for   her  heart.     If  she   happen   to   be  in  a  new 
mission,  where  everything— church,  school,  asylum,  hospi- 
tal—is to  be  erected,  she  enters  into  the  holy  task  with 
congenial    ardour.     To    build    up,   finish,    or   decorate    a 
church— to  her,  the  House  of  God  and  Temple  of  her  An- 
cient Faith— she   contributes   with   generous  hand.     It  is 
the   same    in   a  long-established    parish,   whose    spiritual 
necessities  keep  pace  with  its  growing  population ;  there, 
also,  the  Irish  girl  is  unfailing  -in  her  liberahty.     To  her 
there  is  no  idea  of  making  a  sacrifice  of  her  means ;  she 
gives  as  weU  as  a  pleasure  as  from  a  feeling  of  duty.     Ap- 
peal to  her  in  the  name  of  her  religion  or  country,  for  the 
sick  or  the  suffering,  and  seldom  indeed  is  it  that  there  is 
no  response  from  her  purse  and  her  heart.     The  Irish  girl 
—whether    in    store,  factory,  hotel,  or   domestic   employ- 
ment—takes pride  in  renting  a  seat  in  her  church,  which 
she  has  so  materially  helped  to  erect ;  and  in  nearly  every 
city  in  the  Union  she  may  be  seen  occupying  her  place  in 
her  pew,  neat  in  person,  modest  in  deportment,  and  col- 
lected in   manner— as  true   an   honour   to   her  race   and 
countiy  as  though  the  blood  of  princes  flowed  in  her  veins. 
Thus  is  maintained  over  her  that  rehgious  control  whicli 
is  her  own  best  preservative  against  danger,  and  which, 
while  forming  and  strengthening  her  character,  enables  her 
to   bring  a  salutary  influence  to  bear  upon  her  male  re- 
latives, and  in  case  of  her  marriage— a  contingency  most 
probable— upon  her  husband  and  children.     And  this  is 
hoiv  the  purity  and  piety  of  the  Irish  women  are  of  price- 
less value  to  the  Irish  in  America. 

To  assert  that  there  are  no  dark  shadows  to  this  picture, 


l^iety  she  is 

the  fervent 
enthusiasm ; 
cupation  for 
)ul  and  con- 
36  in  a  new 
^lum,  hospi- 
ly  task  with 

decorate  a 
5  of  her  An- 
hand.  It  is 
se  spiritual 
tion ;  there, 
ty.  To  her 
means;  she 

duty.     Ap- 
titry,  for  the 
hat  there  is 
tie  Irish  girl 
tic   emjoloy- 
urch,  which 
learly  every 
ler  place  in 
it,  and  col- 
r  race   and 
n  her  veins, 
itrol  whicli 
and  which, 
enables  her 
3r  male  re- 
T:ency  most 
ind  this  is 
'e  of  pricc- 

his  picture, 


SIIADOAVS.  33g 

no  murky  tints  to  throw  out  in  stronger  relief  its  pre 
vaihng  brightness  of  colour,  would  be  to  assert  an  untruth 
nt  once  foohsh  and  mischievous.  There  are  dark  shadows 
there  are  murky  tints-there  are  exceptions  to  a  rule 
which  IS  almost  universal.  Under  ordinary  circumstances 
the  rule  is  absolutely  in  favour  of  the  high  moral  character 
of  Irish  women  in  America  ;  but  there  are  in  some  of  the 
great  cities  circumstances  not  favourable  to  female  virtue  • 
and  these  are  attended  with  occasional  injury  to  the  repu- 
tation of  Irish  girls. 

It  is  weU  known  that  America,  while  the  home  of  the 
strong,  the  adventurous,  the  honest  and  industrious  of  the 
emigrants  from  Europe,  is  also  the  asylum  of  the  broken- 
down  and  the  unfortunate.      Female  frailty  seeks  refu-e 
from  exposure  in  those  convenient  hiding-places,  the  gretat 
cities  of  the  Western  World.     Nor  is  it  always  the  case 
that  a  hrst  fall  is  atoned  for  by  a  future  of  virtue,  or  even 
a  career  of  prudence  ;  and  thus  the  sad  wreck  which  has 
happened  at  one    side   of  the   ocean   is  unfairly  counted 
agamst  the  moral  character  of  the  race  at  the  other.     Here 
then,  m  the  first  place,  is  frailty  imported  from  the  old 
country,  and  under  circumstances  not  altogether  favourable 
to  reformation  and  moral  strength. 

Then,  without  seeking  other  evidence  than  may  be  found 
in  pubhc  records,  and  in  the  statute-book  of  the  United 
States,   it   can   be   shown  how  fatal  to   vouth   and  inex- 
perience has  been  the  long  passage  in  the  emigrant  sail- 
ing ship.      As  mentioned  elsewhere,  Co..gress  was   com- 
peJed,  so  late  as  18G0,  to  pass  a  law  for  the  protection  of 
teniale  passengers  from  the  foul  and  systematic  attempts 
ol  officers  and  seamen  to  effect  their  ruin.     Eegulations 
have   been   made,  rules  laid  down,  penalties  proclaimed 
notices  posted,  partitions  and  barriers  erected  ;  but  all  pre- 
cautionary measures  have   been,   in   too   many  instances, 
luimd  ineffectual  to  counteract  the  watchful  wickedness  of 
evil  men,  and  the  utter  defencelessness  of  women  exposed 


1 


3 


"^t* 


340 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


to  the  perils  of  a  protracted  sea-voyage.  Even  so  late  rh 
18(50  the  Government  Commissioner  of  Emig-ration  reports 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  these  protective  laws  have 
been  systematically  violated,  and  calls  for  more  stringent 
measures.  Nor  when  the  poor  Irisli  girl  has  escaped  h{  r 
enemy  on  ship-board,  and  reached  the  shelter  of  Castk) 
Garden,  is  she  entirely  in  safety  ;  [ind  not  rarely  has  it 
occurred  that  the  indignant  officials  have  beaten  back  the 
prowling  wolf,  as  he  sought  to  get  his  intended  victim  with- 
in his  grasp.  Numerous  instances,  not  alone  of  seduction 
on  board  ship,  but  of  lawless  violence,  are  on  record  ;  but 
the  Act  of  18G0  is  of  itself  sufficient  evidence  of  the  fact 
that  protection  was  required,  without  the  necessity  of  its 
illustration  by  harrowing  and  revolting  details. 

Terribly  suggestive  of  ruin  to  female  honour  were  the 
w^ords  addressed  by  jir.  Thurlow  Weed  in  18GJ:,  on  the 
occasion  of  laying  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Emigrant 
Hospital    at   Ward's   Island,       Referring   to   the   helpless 
condition  of  the  emigrant   before   the   present   admirable 
system  was  organised  in  New  York,  he  says  :    '  Families 
were  frequently  plundered  of  all  the  money  they  possessed, 
and  left  to  the  charity  of  the  city.     Young  and  friendless 
females    coming    from    abroad,   to   find   their  friends,   or 
seeking     employment,     ivere    not    inifrequentlt/     outraged: 
Again  :    '  Thousands   of  emigrants   arrived   with    railroad 
tickets  purchased  abroad,  for  which  they  had  paid  not  only 
double  and  treble  the  regular  fare,  but  upon  their  arrival 
here,  they  found  themselves  with  bogus  tickets  and  bogus 
drafts.      Innocent  and   unprotected  girls  came  consigned  to 
houses  of  prostitution:      Mr.  Weed  was  referring  to  what 
frequently  occurred  some  years  before  ;  but  it  is  notorious 
that  similar  evils  have  existed  at  a  later  period,  and  are  not 
yet  effectually  suppressed.     The  panderers  to  the  lust  of 
great  cities  are  constantly  on  the  watch  to,  drag  into  their 
dens  of  infamy  the  young,  the  innocent,  and  the  unsuspect- 
ing.    There  is  scarcely  a  lloivSe  of  Protection  un-lev  the  care 


PERILS  TO  FEMALE  VIRTUE. 


341 


m  so  late  rh 
ation  rci^orts 
VG  laws  liavo 
jro  stringent 

escaped  licr 
;er  of  Castlo 
rarely  has  it 
ten  back  the 

victim  witli- 

of  seduction 

record  ;  but 

!  of  the  fact 

jessity  of  its 

ur  were  the 
L8G4  on  the 
le  Emigrant 
the  hel2)lG.ss 
it   admirable 

:  '  Families 
jy  possessed, 
id  friendless 

friends,  or 
/  oidraaed.' 
ith  railroad 
aid  not  only 
their  arrival 
5  and  bogus 
consigned  to 
ng  to  what 
is  notorious 
and  are  not 
the  lust  of 
Lg  iiito  their 
1  unsuspect- 
uer  the  care 


of  a  Eeligious  Order  in  America,  which  cannot  record  cases 
of  young  girls  snatched  from  the  jaws  of  danger.  Many, 
it  is  true,  are  saved ;  but  what  can  the  helpless  do  against 
the  snares  and  traps  and  frauds  of  those  who  Hve  by  the 
vilest  crime?  The  contest  is  unequal :  the  lamb  is  heljDless 
in  the  talons  of  the  vulture,  or  the  fangs  of  the  wolf.  As  a 
single  instance  of  the  peril  awaiting  the  unsuspecting,  may 
be  mentioned  that  of  a  young  and  handsome  Irish  girl  who 
was  lately  trapped  into  hiring,  in  a  "Western  city,  with  a 
person  of  infamous  character.  She  was  fortunately  ob- 
served by  a  poor  old  Irish  woman,  who,  knowing  the  peril 
in  which  the  young  creature  stood,  boldl}^  rushed  to  her 
rescue,  and,  at  personal  risk  to  herself,  literally  tore  the 
prey  from  the  grasp  of  the  enemy.  The  rescued  girl  was 
taken  to  the  Refuge  in  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  where  she 
was  at  once  in  safety  ;  and  though  she  lost  all  her  clothes, 
save  those  in  which  she  then  stood,  she  congratulated  her- 
self that  she  had  never  crossed  the  threshold  of  a  house  of 
ill-fame. 

Perils  by  sea,  and  perils  by  land,  is  it  wonderful  that 
fraud  and  violence  so  often  triumph  over  innocence  and 
helplessness? — that  human  WTecks  occasionally  strew  the 
highways  of  the  centres  of  wealth,  of  luxury,  and  of  vice  ? 

I  have  in  another  place  referred  to  the  evils  of  over- 
crowding, in  lowering  the  tone  of  the  community,  and 
exposing  the  humbler  classes  to  dangers  of  various  kinds, 
moral  as  well  as  sanitary.  Besides  the  temptations  of 
poverty  and  passion,  of  youth^and  thoughtlessness,  there 
is  the  terrible  mischief  of  daily  and  hourly  association  in 
the  densely-populated  lodging-house,  in  which  it  too  often 
Imppens  that,  even  with  the  best  intentions,  the  most 
ordinary  decency  cannot  be  maintained.  There  is  not  a 
physician  or  a  clergyman  in  New  York  who  will  not  say 
that  this  system  is  fraught  with  danger  to  the  health  of 
soul  and  body.  It  is  in  the  last  degree  unfavourable  to 
the  development  of  virtue ;  and  the  same  state  of  things, 


r 


■■m 

"CI 


^-  « 


342 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


whorovcr  if,  is  to  bo  found,  Avlu^tlior  East 
or  Soiitli,  must  he  produclivo  of  ovil  fniiti 


or  Woat,  North 


Tliorc  iir(!  also  i\w.  luiturjil  coiiscquGncos  of  tlio  vicious 
liiihits  of  pjirouts—tho  (lrunkoniu!Hs  of  tlio  fatlu'r  or  ilu, 
motlu^Muoro  usually  tlio  former—so  fatal  to  tlio  dmraclcr 
of  tlioir  <aiil(lrou.      This  hahit  alone  is  quite  as  dostiMUttiv., 
in  its  O()iiso(iiioiic'cs  as  orphauan-o,  ^vhit•h,  from  this  mor(» 
Ihau  any  other  cause,  is  .so  prevalent  in  America,  where,  at 
least  in  fh(>  towns,  the  averao-e  duration  of  human  life— 
esp<'cially  that  of  the   hard-worlcino-  classes  who    are  not 
t.emperat(^— is   so   short.      Then    th(>re   is   vanity,    love  of 
dre.ss,    and    perhaps    individual    pervcr.sity,    acted    upon 
throuoh   all   the  evil  influences  of  jrrcat  cities— with  the 
wiles  and  snares  of  the  fowler  ever  .spread  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  fh(>  fjutterino-  bird.     These  and  other  causes  will 
explain    why   it   i.s,   that   in   some,  yet  comparatively  foAv, 
places  in  America  a  certain  percentage  of  women  of  bad 
repute  are  necessarily  of  Irish  origin. 

^  But,  however  deplorable  that,  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States,  Irish  women  should  form  an  appreciable  percentage 
of  the  whole  of  the  class  of  unfortunates,  still,  when  com- 
p.'ired  with  the  Irish  female  population  of  those  great  cities, 
wliether  Irish  born  or  of  Irish  extraction,  the  number  is 
small  indeed.     In  very  many  places  the  proportion  is  hi- 
linitessimal  ;  and  there  are  cities  and  districts  throughout 
the  States  in  which  there  has  never  been  known  an  instance 
of  Jin   Irish    girl   having  come   to    shame— in   which   the 
character  of  the  Irish  woman  is  the  pn'de  and  glory  of  all 
who  belong  to  the  old  country,  or  have  a  drop  of  genuine 
Irish  blood  in  their  veins. 

I  have  fre(iuently  marked  with  interest,  how  the  counte- 
nance of  the  faithful  pastor  brightened  with  enthusiasm  as 
the  good  conduct  of  the  female  portion  of  his  flock  was 
the  theme  of  conversation.  I  remember  an  excellent  Irish 
priest— one  of  those  men  who  are  justly  looked  upon  as 
the  fatliers  of  their  people— describing  the  character  of  his 


Ilil.SIl  GI[iLS-Tl[I-:iR  VALUE  TO  TllK  llACM 


313 


"NVost,  North     I      oon^-oiratioii.     It  wan  in  a  town  of  conHidovaMo  inii)()rt 


iinco 


>f  tho  viciouH 
'atlior  or  tlio 
iio  clifiraclcr 
us  (l(\strn(!tiv(i 
m  this  nioro 
ca,  whoro,  at 
ninian  litV; — 
rvho    arc  not 
ity,    h)vo  of 
aetod    Tijion 
!S — with  th(^ 
tho  (Icstrnc- 
causes  will 
ativoly  few, 
men  of  bad 

the  United 
!  percentage 

when  corn- 
great  cities, 

number  is 
rtion  is  in- 
throughout 
an  instance 

which  the 
glory  of  all 
of  genuine 

;hc  coiinto- 
Inisiasni  as 
1  flock  was 
ellent  Irish 
d  upon  as 
.cter  of  his 


y,  and  in   which  11 


miiient  for  its  manufacturing  industr 
liish    (ihnnent   was    |)articidarly  strong.      'Good,  sir!     t! 
Irish  girls  good!    Why,  sir,'  said  their  pastor,   'the  fall  of 
an  Irish  girl  in  this  town  is  as  rare    as— as— as   a   white 


10 
10 


l)lackl)ird'— and    a    pleasant    laugh    iuiparted     additional 
ladiness  to  an  illustration  which    its    autl 
))()th  neat  and  happy.     'Our  Irish  girls 


lor  regard(Ml    as 
are    an    honour  to 


llioir  <!ountry  and  their  race— they  are   the  «dory  of    tl 


lie 


Cliu'-ch  ;  to  their  iiilluence  we  h)ok  for  much  of  what  we 
l.<.p(,  ior  in  th(!  future.  They  will  yet  lift  the  men  to 
tlu>ir  level  by  tho  force  of  their  (^xamj)le.'  This  was  Um 
grave  testimony  borne  by  a  Western  Bishop.  'Tluiyaro 
llie  salvati(ni  of  their  race  in  this  country  -the  salt  of  tho 
(\-irtli,'  said  an  enthusiastic;  Southern  Prelate.'  The  salt  of 
the  earth,  indexed  ;  and  if  the  salt  should  lose  its  savour, 
wherewith  shall  the  earth  be  salted  ?  '  My  belief  is,  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  has  ihem  in  special  charge,  for  the  good 
they  do,  and  the  evil  they  prevent.'  This  was  tho  wind-up 
of  a  long  oulogium  pronounced  upon  Irish  girls  by  an  emi- 
nent ecclesiastic,  who  spoke  with  all  tho  earnestness  and 
jj,ravity  of  the  most  profound  conviction. 

That  would  be  a  sad  day  for  the  Irish  in  America  when 
Irish    women    lost    tho  reputation  which,  notwithstiinding 
the    evil   produced  by  adverse  circumstances    and   special 
causes,   they,  universally  enjoy.     The   Irish   nature   is  jm- 
petuous  and  impulsive  and  passionate,  and  tho  young  are 
too   often   Hable  to    confound  license  with  the  display  of 
iiianly  independence';    hence  even    the    light  yoke   of   tho 
(Hmrch  is  occasionally  too  burdensome  for  the  high-mettled 
Irish  youth,  in  an  especial  degree  tho  American-born  sons  of 
Irish  parents.     In  what,  then,  if  not  in  the  beautiful  faith 
and  piety,  the  unblemished  purity  of  Irish  womon— in  tho 
nover-faihng    example    of    sister,    wife,    and    mother— are 
those    who    love    the    race   to   look    for    a    counteracting 
uilluenco  to  a  freedom  fraught  with  danger,  and  for  that 


m 


1: 
-J- 


■  r,- 1 
.1 


1| 


i4* 


344 


THE  lUISII  IN  AMKUICA. 


strong  yot  delicate  rliaiii  of  gold  with  wlii(;li  to  bind  the 
wayward  and  tlie  licadHirong  to  the  Clinrch  of  their  fathers'? 
As  yet,  as  possibly  for  some  time  to  come,  congregations  arc 
more  numerous  than  churches,  i\odiH  than  pastors,  children 
than  schools  or  teachers-  -..iK-h  schools  and  teach(>rs  as  are 
most   requiied;    and   in    the  meantime,  until  in  diurches 
and  pastors,  schools  and  teachers,  protection  is  everywhere 
afforded  to  endangered  youth,  in  the  piety  and  purity  of 
the   sister  and   the  mother   is   there   the*  best   safeguard 
against  the  risk  of  apostacy,  and   iho   deadlier   blight  of 
mfidelity.     Long  may  the  virtue  of  Irish  women  constitute 
one  of  the  noblest  claims  on  the  respect  and  sympathy  of 
the  generous-minded  people  of  America  I 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


To  Catholic  CI.,u-cli-Tlio  Tiisli-Tlio  Cliurch  not,   afVaul   of 
lM-(u.d„m---A  Contrast--  AVIh.  the  I'.Ms.Tutors  w.-riv  -Tin  A  ,  ,.,i 

C  n    P^       ^  /  ^o'k-I3o.Hlon  in  ITUO-UnivcM-sulily  of  t ho 

^^t  '""■  ^^'•^^■'•-l^^'^'-'y  l^iffi^'-lties  unci  PrivutionLlrish 

TO  tlioir  eonntiTmcn  tlii^.n-luMit  the  worl.l  tho  spiritual 
condition  of  the  Irish  in  Am,    ica  cannot  l.o  other- 
wise than  a  matter  of  the  deepest  interest,  inasniueh  as 
their  material  proo-ress  in  the  New  World  must  of  necessity 
and   to   a   considerable  extent,  depend  on  the  moral  and 
rehf^ious  influence  brought  to   bear  upon  them  and  their 
children.      The   great   mass    of    the   Irish   in   the   United 
btates,  as  in  Ireland,  are  of  the  Catholic  faith  :  therefore 
m  order  to  ascertain  what  is  tlie  spiritual  condition  of  the 
Irish  m  America,  what  the  spiritual  provision  for  them  wo 
must  enquire  as  to  the  position  and  prospects  of  the  Catho- 
hc  Church  in  that  country. 

But  first,  before  doinpf  so,  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to 
statements  which  have  been  made  by  some,  and  relied  on 
by  others,  as  to  the  alleged  falling  away  of  the  Irish  from 
the  faith  of  their  fathers.  Were  this  statement  true  it 
should  be  a  matter  ol  regret  to  every  Irishman  worthy  of 
taat  name ;  for  nothing  could  be  more  calamitous  to  the 
mc^,  or  more  damaging  to  the  honour  of  their  countrv 
than  the  loss  of  that  which  maintains  over  the  Irish  heart 
tlie  most  salutary  of  all  influences.  Happily  for  the  Irish 
in  America,  these  statements  are  the  result  of  exaggerated 
alarm,  or  reckless  invention. 


.J 

3' 


i 


1 1 


^1 


'*!» 


I 


ma 


THE  IllISII  IX  AMERICA. 


1%,. 
r 


It  lias  boon  oonfideiitly  st(it(,'(l  tliat  \\u\  inoinciit  tho  Irinij 
touch  tho  froe  Hoil  of  Araori(!!i,  th(>y  lo.so  tho  old  fuitli— tliat 
thoro  is  soiiiothin^^  in  tho  very  natnro  of  ropuhhcaii  insti- 
tutioiiH  fatal  to  tho  Ciuirch  of  lluiiio.     Admitting',  aw  a  fact 
^dli(rh   oaiiuot   ho   doiiiod,   and  which  Catliolics  aro  thcni- 
Kolvos   the   first   to   proclain),  that   there  has   boon    some, 
even   considorablo,    fallinf^   off   from   tho   Church,  and  no 
little   indifforentisni,  it   must   bo  acknoAvlod-rod  that  there 
has  been  loss  of  both  than,  from  tho  circumstances  of  tho 
country,  might  have  boon  reasonjibly  expected;  and  that 
tho  same  Irish,  whoso  allo;:rod  defection  en  masfie  has  been 
the   theme   of   un'j'onorous   triumph  to  those  whoso  'wi^^h 
was  father  to  tho  thought,'  have  done  more  to  develop  tho 
Church,  and    oxtcnid   her   dominion   throughout   the  wide 
continent  of  North  America,  than  even  tho  most  devoted 
of  the  children  of  any  other  of  the  various  races  who,  with 
them,  are   merged   in   the   great   American   nation.     This 
much  may  be  freely  conceded  to  them,  oven  by  those  who 
are  most^  sensitively  and  justly  proud  of  what   their  own 
nationahty  has  done  to  promote  the  glory  of  the  Universal 
Church.     Fortified  by  sulTering  and  trial  at  home,    and 
inheritors   of  memories   which    intensify   devotion    rather 
than  weaken  fidelity,  tho  Irish  brought  with  them  a  strong 
faith,  the  power  to  resist  as  well  as  the  courage  to  jDor- 
severe,    and    that    generosity    of    spirit  which    has    ever 
prompted   mankind  to   make  large  sacrifices  for  the  pro- 
motion of  their  religious  belief. 

Those  who  foolishly  think,  or  pretend  to  think,  that 
there  is  something  in  republican  institutions  fatal  to  tho 
extension  and  influence  of  the  Catholic  Church,  must  be 
ignorant  of,  or  wilfully  ignore,  the  evidence  of  history,  or 
what  is  going  on  in  tho  world  at  the  present  day ;  or  must 
have  conceived  the  most  erroneous  impressions  concerning 
the  actual  position  of  tho  Churcli  in  tho  United  State;-;. 
Not  only,  throughout  her  long  and  chequered  history,  has 
the  Church  flourished  under  republican  governments,  and 


THF-:  CIIUKCH  NOT  AFRAID  OF  FRKI'DOM. 


847 


lit  tho  Irinii 

faitli— that 
>liciiu  iiisti- 
ig,  tiH  a  fact 

are  tlu'in- 
jet'ii  some. 
;h,  ami  no 

that  there 
ices  of  tho 

;  and  tliat 
c  has  hcoii 
hoso  'wii^h 
Icvclop  tho 
;  the  wide 
st  devoted 
I  who,  with 
ion.     This 

those  who 

their  own 
i  Universal 
lome,  and 
on  rather 
Q  a  strong 
ge  to  jDcr- 

has  ever 
r  the  j)ro- 

hink,  that 
ital  to  tho 
.,  must  he 
history,  or 
' ;  or  must 
;onccrniiig 
od  State;-!. 
istory,  has 
tients,  and 


that  at  this  nionu^nt  among  her  faithful  suhjects  are  to  l)o 
f-»und  the  most  strenuous  supporters  of  repuhlicau  iu.stitu- 
tioUH,  as  in  America  and  the  Catholic  (^mtoiis  of  Swit/er- 
laud  ;  but  it  is  one  of  tlie  striking  characteristics  of  the 
Church— conceded  to  her  even  by  her  enemies— that  she 
has  the  marvellous  faculty  of  adapting  herself  to  every 
form  of  government,  and  to  every  description  of  human 
institutijn.  Instinctively  conservative— that  is,  of  those 
great  principles  which  lie  at  tho  root  of  all  civil  govern- 
ment, and  are  reverenced  in  every  well-ordered  state  of 
society— she  fully  appreciates  the  blesshigs  of  liberty,  and 
flourisluis  in  vigour  under  the  very  freest  form  of  national 
constitution.  In  every  region  she  is  readily  acclimated— 
in  every  soil  she  takes  firm  hold  ;  nay,  oven  where  she  is 
trampled  upon  and  persecuted,  tho  sweeter  is  tho  odour 
she  gives  forth. 

Her  progress  in  tho  United  States  has  not  been  over  a 
path  bestrewn  \yith  roses  ;  hvX  not  only  are  tho  persecu- 
tions and  sufferings  of  other  days  tho  glory  of  tho  present 
hour,  but  they  have  given  her  strengh  to  meet  with  forti- 
tude, and  endure  with  undiminished  confidence,  those 
spasmodic  outbursts  of  violence  which  are  born  of  the 
mad  frenzy  of  tho  moment.  Under  tho  wise  guidance  of 
able  and  sagacious  prelates,  no  less  patriots  than  churchmen 
— devoted  to  the  greatness  and  renown  of  the  noble  coun- 
try of  their  birth  or  of  their  adoption— the  Catholic  Church 
is  not  only  adapting  herseK  to  tho  genius  of  the  American 
people,  and  in  complete  harmony  with  her  institutions, 
but,  so  far  as  her  influence  extends,  is  one  of  the  most 
efficient  means  of  maintaining  social  order  and  promotino- 
pubHc  contentment.  And  wo  shall  see  how,  in  the 
moment  of  tho  gravest  peril  that  ever  overtook  a  people 
or  tried  a  church,  when  others  waved  tho  torch  and  rang 
the  tocsin  peal,  she  retail] ed  her  holy  serenity  in  tlic 
midst  of  strife  ;  and  while  sounds  of  hate  and  fury  rever- 
berated through  so-called  temples   of  religion,  she  calmly 


'^1 


m 


Cfifll 


348 


THE  IRISH  IN  AME-IICA. 


preached  her  mission  of  peace  on  earth  to  men  of-  goo^ 
will. 

That  there  has  been  falHng  away,  is  true— that  there 
is  indifference,  no  one  can  doubt  ;  but  the  faUing  away 
is  not  what  exaggeration  has  represented  it  to  be,  and 
is  moreover  largely  compensated  by  the  most  valuable 
acquisitions  ;  and  the  spirit  of  indifferentism,  which  is  the 
form  of  religious  disease  most  prevalent  in  the  United 
States,  is  steadily  yielding  to  the  zeal  of  the  Church,  and 
its  fuller  and  more  perfect  organisation. 

To  appreciate  rightly  what  has  been  accomphshed,  we 
must  look  back;  and  in  order  to  imderstand  what  the 
Churcii  had  to  contend  with,  what  obstacles  she  had  to 
surmount,  what  she  had  to  create  and  build  up,  it  is  essen- 
tial that  a  sketch— for  anything  more  formal  would  be 
impossible,  and  indeed  out  of  place,  in  this  volume— should 
be  given  of  her  position  before  and  at  the  period  when  the 
emigration  from  Europe  began  seriously  to  influence  the 
population  of  the  United  States. 

So  long  as  England  retained  her  power  in  her  American 
colonies,  persecution  and  proscription '  were  the  lot  of  her 
CathoHc  subjects.     It  was  the  same  at  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic— cruel  laws  and  degrading  disabilities.      If  any- 
thing, her    colonial  governors    and    legislators    outdid    in 
.  violence  and  malignity  ilia  policy  of  the  mother  country  ; 
for,  strange  as  it  must  appear,  and  however  dishonouring 
to  our  human  nature,  it  is  nevertheless  the  fact,  that  those 
who  fled  from  persecution,  who  braved  the  stormy  ocean 
in  frail  vessels,  to   escape  from  the  tyranny  of   a  sect  or 
a    government,  became   relentless   in  their  persecution  of 
others  who,  hke  themselves,  had  hoped  to  find  a  peaceful 
home  and   a   safe   asylum   in  a  new  and  happy  country. 
The  Puritans  of  New  England  outdid,  in  their  fierce  in- 
tolerance,    those   whose    milder    tyranny   had    compelled 
them  to  seek  relief  in  exile,     The  contrast  offered  by  tlio 
different  pohcy  pursued  by  CathoHc  and  Puritan  colonist!? 


A  CONTRAST. 


349 


len  oi' goo(\ 

-that  there 
ailing  away 
to  be,  and 
st  valuable 
rhich  is  the 
the  United 
:!hurch,  and 

phshed,  we 
I  what  the 
she  had  to 
it  is  essen- 
.  would  be 
Qe — should 
d  when  the 
luence   the 

?  American 
lot  of  her 
des  of  the 
If  any- 
outdid   in 
L'  country  ; 
ihonouriug 
that  those 
rmy  ocean 
a  sect  or 
Bcution  of 
a  peaceful 
Y  country, 
fierce  in- 
compelled 
•ed  by  the 
1  colonistsi 


should  put  to  shame  those  who  are  so  lavish  in  their  accu- 
sations of  Cathohc  persecution.     When  the  Cathohcs  had 
power  or  influence,  they  proclaimed  the  broadest  toleration, 
the  fullest  liberty  to  every  sect  of  Christians;   while,   on 
the  contrary,  not  only  were  Catholics  in  a  special  degree 
the  objects  of  persecution  in  every  colony,   and  by  every 
governor  or  legislature,  but   the   zealots  who  persecuted 
them  did  not  refrain  from  persecuting  people  of  other  de- 
nominations.    We  may  refer  to  the  conduct  of  the  Catholic 
settlers  of  Maryland,  and  of  the  Catholics  during  the  only 
time  they  ever  possessed  any  influence  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  contrast  their  enhghtened  pohcy  with  the  laws 
against  Qu.akers  and  Cathohcs— the  latter  of  which  laws 
were  not  erased  from  the  statute-book  until  after  America 
liad  accomphshed  her  independence. 

The  code  of  the  New  England  colonies  was  conceived  in 
the  most  ferocious  spirit,  and  was  enforced  with  relent- 
less severity.  A  single  extract  from  the  law  passed  at 
Plymouth  on  the  Uth  of  October  1G57,  wiU  be  saffieient 
to  display  the  mild  and  Christian  policy  of  those  who 
themselves  had  suffered  for  conscience^  sake  : 

And  it  is  further  enactod,  that  if  any  Quaker  or  Quakers  shall  pre- 
sume after  they  have  once  suffered  what  the  law  requireth,  to  come 
into  this  jurisdiction,  every  such  male  Quaker  shall,  for  the  first 
oflence,  have  one  of  his  ears  cut  off,  and  be  kept  at  work  in  the  house 
of  correction  till  he  can  be  sent  away  at  his  own  charge  ;  and  for  the 
second  offence,  shall  have  the  other  ear  cut  off,  &c.,  and  be  kept  at  the 
house  of  correction  as  aforesaid.  And  every  woman  Quaker  that 
hath  suffered  the  law  here,  that  shall  presume  to  come  into  this  juris- 
diction, shall  he  severely  wMpt,  and  kept  at  the  house  of  correction 
tUKshe  be  sent  away  at  her  own  charge,  and  so  also  for  her  comin- 
again  she  shall  be  alike  used  as  afor<>said.  And  for  every  Quaker  he 
or  she.  that  shall  a  third  time  herein  ai^ain  offend,  they  shall  have  their 
tongues  hored  through  toilh  a  hot  iron,  and  k-pt  at  the  house  of  correc- 
tion  till  they  be  sent  away  at  their  own  char.-e 

The    ofience    thus    fiendishly  punished  was    the    mere 
commg  of  any  of  these  harmlcs*  people  within  tho  jurisdic- 


m 


■■>]! 


I 


850 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


tion  of  tliosc  ardent  wor.slnppors  of  human  froedom  and 
relio-ions  iil.erty.  It  were  hard  to  say  .vhcth(^r  the  Puritan 
H-an  more  ferociously  iu  earn(.,st  iu  his  persecution  of 
Quakers  and  Cathohcs,  or  in  ]iis  extermination  of  witches 
-tor  a  profound  l,ehef  in  witchcraft  was  one  of  the  most 
strilang  evidences  of  his  cnhghtenment  and  good  sense. 

Bancroft,  the   historian  of  America,  thus  describes   the 
state  of  things  in  the  CatlioHc  colony  of  Baltimore  :— 

Yet  the  happiuoss  of  the  colony  was  enviable.  The  persecute,!  and 
«.e  unhappy  thronox.d  to  the  domains  of  the  benevolent  prince  If 
l^a  tunore  was.  in  one  senr-'  a  monarch-like  MiUiades  at  Chersonesus 
and  other  founders  o  ...ies  of  old-hi,s  monarchy  was  tolerable  to' 
tiie  exile  who  soughi  ibv  freedom  and  repose.  Numerous  ships  tbund 
emp  ..ynu"nt  n,  Ins  harbours.  The  white  labourer  rose  rapidly  to  the 
condu.on  of  a  free  proprietor;  the  female  emig-rant  was  sure  to  im- 
prove  her  condition,  and  the  cheerful  charities  of  home  gathered  round 

her  m  the  New  A\  orld 

Emigrants   arrived  from   every  clime;   ami 'the   coionial' leHslature' 
^   extended  its  sympathies  to  many  nations,  as  well   as   to   many  sects 
Irom  France    came   Huguenots;    from  Germany.  IVom   Holland,  from 
Sweden.  Iro.u   Finland,  I   believe  from   Piedmont,  ihe  chHdren  of  «uV 
.forlaue  sought  protPcilon  under  ihe  Movant  sceptre  of  the  Human  Catho- 
lie.     Bohemia   itself,  the   country  of  Jero.ne   and  of  Huss,  sent  forth 
their  sons,  who  at   once  were   ma<le  citizens  of  Mai-yland  with   equal 
franchises       The    empi.'e   of  justice   and    humanity,  according   to   the 
l.ght  ol   those   days,  had  been  complete  but  for  the   sufTerino-s  of  the 
people  called  Quakers.      Yet  they  we.-e  not  persecuted  for  their  reli- 
gums   woi'ship,  which  was    held    p,iblicly.   and    witho.it   interruption. 
llie   truth   was    received   with    revei-ence   and    gladness;'   and   with 
secret  satisfaction  Geoi-ge  Fox  relates  that  members  of  the  legislature 
and  the  council,  persons  of  quality,  and  justices  of  the   peace,  were 
present  at  a  large  and  very  heavenly  meeting. 

This  was  in  1668,  but  in  a  few  years  after  the  arrival  of 
Wilham  Penn,  the  Quakers  had  full  justice  done  to  them 
In  Catholic  Maryland  there  had  been  no  ear-croppin<.- 
no  l)oring  of  tongues  with  hot  pokers— such  exhibitions  .5' 
brotherly  love  and  mercy  were  reserved  for  the  Puritans 
of  Plymouth. 

'The    apologist    of    Lord    Baltimore/   says    Bancroft, 


WHO  THE  PERSECUTORS  WERE. 


351 


uedoMi  and 
lie  Puritan 
ocution   of 

of    witclK!.'^ 

f  the  most 
d  sense. 
scribes   the 

rsecuted  and 
t  prince.  If 
Chcrsonesus. 

toleral)le  to 
'  sliips  found 
tpidly  to  tlie 

suro  to  iin- 
hcred  round 

I  legi.slatnre 
many  sects. 
Mland,  from 
Iren  of  mis- 
'oman  Gutlio- 
,  sent  forth 

with  equal 
ling  to  the 
■ings  of  the 
r  their  ri'li- 
nterrnption. 
'   and   with 

legisUiture 
peace,  were 

arrival  f)f 

to  them, 

croppino-, 

jitions  of 

Puritans 

Bancroft, 


*  could  assort  that  his  government,  in  conformity  with  his 
strict  and  repeated  injunctions,  had  never  given  disturb- 
ance to  any  person  in  Maryland  for  matter  of  religion  ; 
that  the  coh)nists  enjoyed  freedom  of  conscience,  not  less 
than  freedom  of  person  and  estate,  as  amply  as  ever  any 
people  in  any  place  in  the  world.  The  disfranchised  friends 
of  prelacy  from  Massachusetts,  and  the  Puritan  from  Vir- 
ginia, ivere  welcomed  to  equal  liherty  of  conscience  and  political 
rightti  in  the  Roman  Catholic  province  of  Maryland.'  These 
halcyon  days  did  not  long  continue;  for  when  the  Pro' 
testants  got  the  upper  hand  in  Maryland,  they  persecu- 
ted the  Cathohcs,  who  had  extended  toleration  and  lib- 
erty to  all ! 

We  shall  now  see  how  Catholics  were  tr^  ced  in  New 
York.  In  1G83  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan,  a  Catholic,  was 
sent  out  as  governor,  and  under  his  liberal  administration 
the  legislative  assembly— the  first  which  was  convoked— 
proclaimed  that  '  no  person  or  persons,  which  profess  faith 
in  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  shall  at  any  time  be  any  way 
molested,  punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in  question  for 
any  difference  of  opinion  or  matter  of  religious  concern- 
ment, who  do  not  actually  disturb  the  civil  peace  of  the 
province  ;  but  that  all  and  every  such  person  or  persons 
may,  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times,  freely  have  and 
fully  enjoy  his  qr  their  judgments  or  consciences,  in  matters 
of  religion,  throughout  all  the  province— they  behaving 
themselves  peaceably  and  quietly,  and  not  using  this  hberty 
to  licentiousness,  nor  to  the  civil  injury,  nor  outward  dis- 
turbance of  others.'  By  another  article,  all  denominations 
then  in  the  province  were  secured  the  free  exercise  of  their 
discipline  and  forms,  and  the  same  privilege  extended  to 
such  as  might  come.  Bancroft  describes  this  Charter  of 
Liberty  as  eliminating  '  the  intolerance  and  superstition  of 
the  early  codes  of  Puritanism.', 

The  New  York  Assembly  of  1G91  declared  null  and  void 
the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1683,  and,  instead  of  the  Char- 


'^l 


■ij 


852 


THE  IRISH  IN- AMERICA. 


■p* 


ter  of  Liber  les,  passed  a  Bill  of  Rights,  which  expressly 
^xchuled  Catholics  from  aU  participation  in  the  privileo^s 
Avlnch  it  conferred.     It  had  been  the  same  in  Maryland 
where  Githolics  had  first  proclaimed  religious  liberty,  and 
where  the  Protestants,  who  soon  gained  the  ascendancy 
proscribed  the  Papists  and  their  creed.  *  ' 

In  1090   a  wicked  law  was  passed,   enacting  that   any 
priest  commg  into  the  colony,  or  remaining  in  it  after  a 
cer  am  day  should  be  deemed  an  incendiary  and  disturber 
ot  the  public  peace  and  safety,  and  an  enemy  to  the  true 
Cliristian  religion,  and    adjudged  to  suffer  perpetual  im- 
prisonment.    If  he  escaped,  and  were  retaken,  death  was 
the  penalty.      And   any  one  who  harboured  a  priest  was 
made    lable  to  a  fine  of  300/.,  and  to  stand  three  days  in 
the  pillory.     In  1701  Catholics  were  excluded  from  office 
and  depriyed  of  the  right  of  yoting ;  and  in  the  foUowino' 
year   they   were   specially    excluded  from   sharing  in   the 
hberty  of  conscience  granted  by  Queen  Anne  to   aU  the 
inhabitants  of  New  York. 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  that,  whateyer  their  condi- 
tion at  home,  there  was  Httle  inducement  for  Irish  Catho- 
hcs  to  emigrate  to  the  American  colonies  while  under 
British  rule,  and  so  long  as  the  spirit  of  their  laws  was 
more  than  a  faithful  reflection  of  the  odious  intolerance 
bi-eathmg  m  eyery  page  of  the  statute-book  of  England. 
Ihey  did  come,  neyertheless,  and,  though  not  in  groat 
numbers,  they  were  to  be  found  scattered  oyer  the  country 
m  yarious  directions,  and  carrying  on  business  in  New 
lork  and  other  of  the  principal  cities. 

The  Keyolution  .did  much  for  the  Cathohcs  of  America 
if  not  to  change  the  public  sentiment  in  their  favour  at 
least  to  afford  them  relief  from  positiye  persecution,  'xo 
doub  ,  men  of  just  and  generous  minds,  Hke  Washino-to:), 
would,  without  the  pressure  of  special  circumstances,  have 


*  Shea's  '  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  Stales. 


THE  AMERICAN  CONSTITUTION. 


363 


ell  expressly 
^e  privileges 
I  Maryland, 
liberty,  and 
ascendancy 


g   that   any 

I  it  after  a 

d  disturber 

to  the  true 

L'petual  im- 

death  was 

priest  was 

fee  days  in 

Tom  office, 

3  following- 

ng  in   the 

to   all  the 

leir  condi- 
ish  Catho- 
lile  under 
•  laws  was 
ntolerance 
England. 
-J  in  great 
le  country 
s   in  New 

■  America, 
favour,  at 
tion.  No 
ishington, 
ices,  have 


been  willing  to  extend  the  same  liberty  to  Catholics  as  io 
all  other  rehgious  sects  ;  but  had  there  not  existed  the 
necessity  of  endeavouring  to  conciliate,  ,r  even  neutrahse, 
the  CathoHcs  of  Canada,  and  of  not  offeidmg  the  pride  of 
France,  a  Catholic  nation  wliich  had  re  ....^red  such  material 
assistance  to  the  revolted  colonies  of  En-land,  it  is  possible 
they  might  not  so  soon  have  been  allowed  to  participate  in 
the  fidl  measure  of  freedom  secured  to  the  citizens  of  the 
infant  rei^ubhc.  Even  the  fact  that  Citholics— soldiers 
and  merchants,  and  among  tliem  gallant  and  high-spirited 
Irishmen— distinguished  themselves  by  tlieir  hcToism  and 
generosity  in  the  cause  of  American  Independence,  would 
not,  of  itself,  have  been  sufficient  to  brea.k  down  the  bar- 
riers of  exci".siveness  which  intolerance  and  fanaticism  had 
raised  against  the  just  claims  of  that  faithful  but  persecuted 
body  of  Christians. 

There  is  little  mention  made  of  religious  matters  in  the 
Constitution,  but  what  is  there  proclaimed  has  often  since 
been  appealed  to,  and  will  many  times  again  be  appealed 
to,  as  the  solemn  declaration  of  a  great  and  fundamental 
principle  of  religious   toleration  and   equality.      'No  reli- 
'gious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qy.alif  "ation  to   any 
'offiee    or  public    trust    under    the    United    States.'      'Con- 
'gress    shall    make    no    law    respecting  an  estdbl'shment  of 
'religion,   or  prohihiting  the  free    exercise  thereof:       This 
is  the  entire  ;  but  it  was  like  a  grand  key-note,  to  regulate 
all  future  legislation,  winch  ought  to  be  in  harmony  with 
the  principle  embodied  in  these  fcAV  but  memorable  words. 
It  rather  pointed  out  to  the  thirteen  States  then  in  the 
Union  what  they  ought  to  do,  than  what  they  should  not 
do.     This  broad  proclamiyH -n  notwithstanding,  each  State 
was  at  full  liberty  to  legi.^Uat-    according  to  its  own  views, 
in  reference  to  the  imporL.iit  matter  of  religion.     This  is 
put  clearly  by  the  authors  of   'The  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States : ' — 


II 


■t 

t  a 


■'IV 


S54 


1%*.. 
i^" 


TIIK  lltlSIl  IN  AMKRICA. 


Tlio    o/ijrinal    tliirl.'cii    Slat 


CiitliolicK   liberty  of 


<'«,   one    iUtcr    iuiollicr,   granted    to    II 


10 


Calliolic 


'■onscience.  but  many  „r  (hem   Jonjy   refused   tl,o 


■"<  eivil   and   politieal   ri«j;lits.      Tims   it 


Catholics,    to    liold    oHJ 


th 


i»  only  since   Lsoi;    (jiat 


,  <>""■«'    in    ine   .>uit(>   „r  New  York,  have    been    dis- 

pensed w.tl.  a  soUmu.  abjuration  of  all  obedience  to  a  foreign  ecelc- 
K.as.,cal  power.  Down  to  Ja.n.ary  ],  mn,  to  bo  an  elector  and 
;'";:'>'•■  '■•  'IK'  Slate  of  Xorth  Carolina,  it  was  necessary  ,o  swea 
''<'>""  ",  ll,e  Irull,  of  (he  I'mlestant  religion.  Jn  N<'v  Jersey  a 
ola.,se  exeludmg  (^allmlics  fron.  all  ,>IIices  was  only  abolisi.ed  in  1811 
An.l  even  now  (ISS.!).  eighty  years  after  (he  Declaration  of  the' 
/;;';">■.'•'  '"''"I-n<lene,>.  (he  State  of  New  Hampshire  still  excludes 
<""'-  "I's  iron,  every  oUiee.  slubboruly  resisting  all  (he  petitions  pre- 
•sented  l,.r  a  removal  of  this  stigma  from  (heir  s(a(ute-book. 

As  (o  (he  Slates  founded  on  lerrit.uy  ceded  by  Franco  or  Spain 
sueh  as  I.mnsiana.Flori.la.  Michigan.  ladiana.  or  severed  from  Mexico' 
hko  lexas  and  California.  ll„.  (^a(h.,lic;s  original  proprielors  of  the  soil' 
olXaine.l.  by  the  act  of  c.-ssion.  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  w<.rship  • 
and  there  is  on  the  side  of  i'rotcstautism  mere  justice,  but  no  generosity' 
in  keeping  the  faith  of  treaties. 

In  1700  a  rciiuirkablo  Address  was  presented  to  \Ytisli- 
mgUm  from  the  Catholics  of  America,  signed  by  Bishop 
Carroll,  the  iirst  Ctitholi,.  .Bishop,  on  tlu.  part  of  the  ch^m-y 
nnd  l,y  Charles  Carroll  of  Ctirrollton,  David  Carroll,  Thonms 
Fitzsmimons  and  Dominick  Lyneh/f=  on  the  part  of  the  hiity. 

*  Domiaiclc    Lyncl,   was    born    in  Gahvay,   Irdan,!,   in    1754.   a.ul   was   a  direct 
U  cm.  ant  o    one  oi  tl.o  most  inllnonlial  fanulics  of  tl,c  town  ;  one  of  his  anco^lorH 

':;;;;:  Z- ;  r ''  'T' """' "'  '^^  "^'^'""^'^ "-  '^  "'"«^«'™*^>-  rrononn.-oa  t;: 

tcnco   of   death   npon  h:s  -wn   Hon.     Having  ae,],uircd  a  eonsidorablo  fortuno  in 

1^  Tor       ;;^^'"*"''"^7"'"«  ^o  now  Y.^K   whe,-c  his  arrival  was  regarded  as  an 

v.nt  of  pubhe  nnportaneo,  as  ho  brou«lit  witn   him  a  larger  amount  in   speeie 

han  had    been   bronght  to   the  eonntry  in  many  yours  by  a  private   individual. 

iionr      "'         ''  "'^  "     "'^'''  ^'""'^^■'   '''■'''"•  "*'   ''^'"'"  '■^'•'"  ^^  ^""'"'"'t  l'^'--^'- 

fo  tun.  HI  Phdadolplua,  to  which  plaee  he  can.e  about  the  close  of  the.  last  int.T 
.'olomal  war.  He  was  a  numiber  of  the  State  L.-gisIaturc  of  Pennsylvania  for 
many  years  ;  also  of  the  Continent.!  Congress  in  1782-3  ;  of  the  Constitution.! 
C..nvention  m  1787;  of  the  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives  from  178'J  t..  17U.-, 
Uc  was  a  man  of  truly  noblo  chara.ter.  morally,  intolleetually.  and  phvsi..alb  ' 
J  lu  hrm  ot  George  Meade  &  Co.,  of  which  Thonms  Fitz.sinmions  was  a  memb..-, 
o..n  ributod  the  sum  of  5,000/.  t<.  the  r..Iief  of  the  Continental  Armv  in  1780.  lie 
rtiod  in  1811.  in  his  70th  year.  His  wile.  Catharine  Meade  ritzsinnu..ns.  «as  a 
daughter  M  lU.bert  Meade,  an  Irish  Catholic  nu'rchant  of  Philadelphia,  great- 
grandfather  ot  Major-General  George  Gordon  Meade,  of  the  Eegular  Army 


.VASIIINGTOX'S  UHl'LY  TO  TJIK  CATHOLICS. 


365 


mlt'd  t<t  ilio 
:  refiisc'd  tlio 
W!  lS()(i  iliat 
vc  been  dis- 
Ibrcisi;!!  I'cclc- 
t'k'clor  iiiiil 
y  lo  .swt'ar  11 

'W    JlTHCy.     u 

-lied  ill  1811. 
itinii     of    II, (> 

ilill  ('xcliidcs 
K'liiions  pro- 

co  or  Spain, 
roiii  .Mexico, 
*  of  tlio  soil, 
'ir  worship  ; 
[)  geuorosily, 

to  Wtish- 
by  Bisboi) 
tho  cloroy, 
11,  Tlionijis 
f  tho  luity. 

was  a  direct 
Ilia  iuicostDrH 
inouiu'od  sc'ii- 
Ic!  fortuuc  in 
'giinled  as  an 
lint  in  spoi'ie 
to  individual. 
3Uiiiient  posi- 

c'onsidcrablo 
lie  Ja.st  inter 
nsjlvaiiiii  fur 
^institutionni 
178!)  t(i  17'.ir>. 
d  iih.v.sically 
s  a  nieiulK  r, 
in  1780.  Ho 
nions,  was  a 
liiliia,  great- 
uiy. 


rr 


T\ra  p.'issiioYiS,  oiio  from  flm  Address,  tlio  oilier  from  the 
)-"])ly,  m:iy  \h\  iis(d"ully  ciuoied. 

•'I'lds  prospccd  of  iiiitioiial  proHponty,'  .say  the  Catholics,  'is  pecu- 
liarly plcasiii;,'  to  us  on  aiiolhcr  acoouul,,  bccausi.',  whilst  our  coutilrv 
in-i'scrvcH  her  IVocdoiu  and  iiidcpcndciico,  wn  shall  have  a  well-rounded 
till.'  to  claim  IVoiu  her  justice  equal  ri<!:lils  of  citi/.eiishij»,  as  the  pri<;e 
of  our  blood  spilt  under  your  eyes,  and  oC  our  connnon  e.xcMtions  lur 
her  delrnce  under  your  auspicious  conduct  ;  ri;j;lits  rendered  more  de-ar 
lo  us  by  the  remembrance!  of  lornjer  hardships.' 

In  his  reply,  Wiisliiiiotou  thus  r(3t'eiTed  to  tliat  piissago 
in  tli(!  Catholic  Address  : — 

As  matdcind  beoomi'  more  liberal,  they  will  l)e  mon;  apt  to  allow, 
that  all  those  who  coi  duct  Ihemselvt^s  as  worthy  m(!mljers  of  tho 
comnuinity  arc  e(|ually  entitled  to  Viw.  ]trotcction  of  \\n\  civil  tjovern- 
ment.  I  hope-  ever  to  secf  America  among  the  rorenu)st  nations,  in 
e.vamples  of  justice  ami  liberality.  A)Ld  J  presnine  (h'd  your  /(dlow-dti- 
zms  icill  not  fon/d  the  palrwUc  part  irhkh  yon  took  in  the  accomp/lsh- 
hieut  of  their  rcvolutioiu  and  the  vstithlishnicnt  of  their  ^overmnmt ;  or, 
ike  imporintit  assistance  they  receiml  from  a  nation  in  wtdch  the  lioman 
Catholic  reUqiim  is  professed. 

To  Baltimore  we  must  naturally  look  for  the  first 
establishment  of  the  Ciitholic  Church  in  America.  Mem- 
bers of  various  relio-ions  Orders,  especially  the  illustrious 
Society  of  Jesus,  those  heroic  soldiers  of  the  Cross,  had 
shed  their  blood,  or  wasted  themselves  m  a  life  of  labour, 
in  the  propaoation  of  tho  faith.  Spain,  Frar(;o,  England, 
and  Ireland  too,  had  all  their  share  in  the  glory  of  those 
early  missions.  But,  previous  to  the  revolution,  tho  number 
of  those  who  pro(;laimed  their  adherence  to  the  Church 
was  not  very  considerable.  Besides,  the  priests  wore  few, 
and  many  of  them  worn  down  by  ago  and  hardships.     The 

m 

TliGHG  particular.s  respecting  two  eminent  Irish  Catholics  arc  abridged  from  notes 
supplied  b.v  Judge  Daly  and  Mr.  Michael  Hennessy  to  Mr.  John  Gilmary  Shea, 
for  liis  rei)ul)lication  of  the  'Address  from  tho  RomaTi  Catholics  in  1790.' 

It  may  here  be  remarked,  that  tlie  Irisli,  (!specially  the  Catholic  Irish,  wore,  of  the 
three  nationalities-English,  Scotch,  and  Irish— the  most  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  revolution.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  instinctively  arrayed  thomscdves  la 
hostility  to  the  British  power  ;  a  fat:t  to  be  explained  alike  by  their  love  of  liberty, 
»nd  their  vivid  remembrance  of  receBt  or  past  misgoverimient. 


:i* 


36G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Catholics  of  the  Unittul  Htiitos  were  under  tlio  jurisdiction 
of  tlio  Vicar  Apostolic  of  the  London  district,  Jind  during- 
the  war  there  was  not  the   least  communication  between 
them  and  their  ecclesiastical  sui)eri(u-.      Of  course,  after 
the  termination  of  tlie  war,  which  ended  in  the  indepon- 
<lence  of  the  American  colonies,  it  was  impossible  that  the 
Catholics   of    the  United  States   could  any  longer  remain 
in  sul)jection  to  an  English  ])ishop  ;    and  accordhigly  the 
clergy  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  addressed  the  Holy 
See,  praying   that    they    tlicmselvcs  might   be  allowed   to 
choose  a  spiritual  superior,  subject  to  the  approbation  and 
confirmation  of  His  Hohness.     Dr.  Carroll,  tlien  the  most 
eminent  ecclesiastic  in  the  country,  was  selected  to  repre- 
sent the  case  of  the  American  CathoHcs  before  the  Holy 
See  ;  and  in  praying  that  the  episcopal  power  should  bo 
placed  in  the  hands  of  one  'whose  virtuo,  knowledge,  and 
integrity    of  faith,'  should    be   certified  by  the  clergy  of 
America,  he  was  unconsciously  describing  his  own  univer- 
sally admitted  qualification  for  the  high  office  to  which, 
in  the  year  1789,  he  was  raised,  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  the  clergy    and  laity    of  the  infant    Church,    and   the 
approval  of  the  foremost  American  citizen  of  that  day.* 

There  was  a  Cardinal  Antonelli  in  those  days,  as  in 
these  ;  and  the  Cardinal  of  that  day,  when  despatching  to 
Dr.  Carroll  the  official  documents  appointing  him  to  the 
new  see,  thus  expressed  his  congratulations  and  his  hopes  : 
'  It  is  a  splendid  and  glorious  office  to  oflbr  to  God,  as  it 
were,  the  first  fruits  of  that  portion  of  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

*  The  Rev.  Dr.  White,  in  his  '  Sketch  of  the  0ri,!,'in  and  Progress  ol  the  Catholic 
Churc-h  in  the  United  States  of  America,'  published  as  an  appendix  to  Darras' 
'General  History  of  the  Church,'  quotes  a  passage  from  a  Utter  of  the  lute  Hon. 
Mr.  Custis,  a  nephew  of  the  illustrious  Washington,  representing  tlie  esteem  in  which 
the  first  of  the  Catholic  bishops  of  the  United  ^^tates  was  held  by  its  greatest 
titizen  : — 

'  From  his  exalted  worth  as  a  minister  of  God.  his  staitilcss  character  as  a  man, 
and,  above  all,  his  distinguished  services  a«!  a  patriot  of  the  revolution,  Dr.  Carroll 
•stood  high,  very  high,  in  tho  esteem  and  affections  of  Pater  Patriaj.' 

Bishop  Carroll  was  of  Irish,  descent  on  his  father's  side. 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN  NEW  YORK. 


857 


irisdiction 
1(1  (hiriiio- 

I  betwcoii 
irse,  jil'ter 

indojjon- 
)  that  tlio 
er  rGinain 
iiiif^-ly  tho 
the  Holy 
[lowed  to 
atiou  and 
the  most 

to  repre- 
tho  Holy 
;lioiild  bo 
jdgc,  and 
Lilergy  of 
1  nniver- 
;o  wliicli, 
tisfaction 
and   the 
lay.* 
ys,  as  in 
:ching  to 
01  to  the 
s  hopes  : 
rod,  as  it 
vineyard. 

the  Catholic 
X  to  Darras' 
1'^  lute  lion, 
cm  in  which 
its  greatest 


}r  as  a  man, 
,  Dr.  Carroll 


Enjoy,  thovcfore,  so  groat  a  blessing,  not  only  for  tho 
salvation  of  yourself,  but  for  that  of  otliors,  and  for  tho 
increase  of  the  Catholic  faith,  which  we -trust  will  become 
more  and  more  widely  established  in  that  distant  region.' 

In  1785,  when  Dr.  Carroll  submitted  the  castJ  of^'his  co- 
religionists to  the  Propaganda,  he   estimated  the  number 
of    Cathohcs  in   the   United    States   at   20,000,   and   thus 
distributed  them--lG,000  in  Maryland,  7,000  in  Penn.syl- 
vania,    and   2,000    in    New   York    and    the    other    States.' 
This  was  too  low  an  estimate,  as  it  did  not  include  French 
and  other  Cathohcs  hving  to  the  west  of  tho  Ohio  and  on 
the   borders   of    the   Mississii)pi ;    but    the   small  number 
attributed  to  New  York,  now  perhaps  the  most  Catholic  of 
any  of  tho  States  of  the  Union,   is  worthy  of  notice.     It 
Avas  not  until  the  city  of  New  York  was  evacuated  by  the 
British,  in  1783,  th;it  the  Catholics  began  to  assemble  for 
the  ()pen   celebration  of   public  worship.     They   probably 
uiiglit  have  been  content  to  remain  for  a  longer  time  witli- 
out  a  church  of  their  own,  had  they  been  able  to  obtain  any 
suitable  place  in  which  they  could  decently  oiler  up   the 
Holy  Sacrilice  ;  but  finding  it  impossible  to  accommodate 
themselws   with   a   building   such  as  they  required,  they 
were  compelled  to  commence  what  must  have  been  in  those 
days  a  formidable  undertaking— the  erection  of  a  Catholic 
church  by  a  small  congregation  ;  and  in  1780  the  Church 
of  St.  Peter,  the  iirst  Catholic  Church  in  the;  State  of  New 
York,    was   erected— several  Irish  names  being    included 
among  its  principal  benefactors.     That   there   were  Irish 
congregations  in  the  States  at  that  day,  and  that  the  New 
York  congregation  bore  that  distinction,  we  have  evidence 
in  a  letter  quoted  by  Dr.  Bayley  in  his  'Brief  Sketch  of 
the  Catholic  Church  on  the   Island  of   New   York.'     The 
letter  is  from  Dr.  Carroll,  dated  December  15,  1785,  and 
addressed  to  his  friend  the  Eev.  Charles  Plowden  :— 

Tlie    congrc-rniion    at    New    York.    l»t\c:nn    l>v    tlio    voiuM-able    Afr. 
Farmer,  of   Fhiladelplila,  ho   Las   now    codod    to    an    Irish    Capiichin 


»4 


^r^ 


■si 


858 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMi:iaCA. 


resident  thoro.  The  prospect  nt  Unit  placo  is  pl(,asins  un  the  wlioN-. 
The  Cnpuchin  is  a  milous,  pious,  and.  I  ihiiiit,  Innnble  man.  Ho 
iM  not  indeed  so  leurn(>d,  or  so  go(.d  a  preacher,  us  I  could  wish,  whicli 
in..ilifi..,s  his  con-re^^ation  ;  as  at  New  YorI<,  and  most  otlier  places  in 
America,  the  dillei-ent  sectaries  Iiuvo  scarce  any  other  test  ti.  jiidKe  of 
a  clergyman  than  his  talent  lor  preachlni^.  and  oar  IdsU  cow/rcjalioo.,, 
sKch  as  Xew  York,  follow  tlic  same  rule. 


Fiitlicr  Wholan  had  served  in  a  rrencli  ship  hclouoin^r 
to  the  Heet  of  Admiral  De  Grassf,  who  was  enfragrd  in 
assisting  the  cause  of  American  Independence ;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  war  he  selected  America  as  the  theatre  of  his 
missionary  zeal,  and  became  'the  first  regnhirly  settled 
priest  in  tlie  city  of  New  York.' 

By  the  aid  of  another  letter  from  the  same  pen,  quoted 
by  Dr.  White  in  his  'Sketch,'  we  ha%e  a  glimpse  at  the 
state  of  things  at  Boston  in  the  year  1700.     The  descrip- 
tion of  the  feeling  of  hatred  and  horror  created  by  '  scan- 
dalous misrepresentation'  applies,  as  the  reader  will  luive 
reason  to  judge,  to  a  period  even  more  tlian  half  a  century 
later,  and  to  many  parts  of  America.     The  njime  of  CarroU 
was  inseparably  associated  with  the  successful  revolution. 
When  Charles  Carroll  signed  his  name  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  added  '  of  CarroUton,'  to  his  signa- 
ture,   Benjamin    Frankhn  exclaimed— '  There  goes  a  ^^cool 
million! '     The  new  Bishop  was  therefore  certahi  of  being 
received  with  distinction    even  in    the  capital  of  Massji"^ 
chusetts  of  that  day. 

It  is  wonderful  (he  writes)  to  tell  what  gi-oat  civilities  have  been 
done  to  me  in  this  town,  where,  a  few  years  ago,  a  'Papist  priest'  was 
thought  to  be  the  grossest  monster  in  the  creation.  Many  here,  e -en 
of  their  principal  people,  have  acknoiokd<jed  to  me,  that  they  would  hav, 
crossed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  stred,  rather  than  meet  a  lloman 
Catholic  some  time  ago.  The  horror  which  was  associated  with  lli.. 
Idea  of  a  Papist  is  incredible ;  and  the  scandalous  misrepresentations 
by  their  ministers  increased  the  horror  every  Sund  ly.  If  all  the 
Ca'tholios  here  were  united,  their  numbers  would  be  about  one  hundred 
and  ticenty. 


HI  the  wliolt'. 
)le  iiiiui.  Ho 
(i  wish,  which 
her  places  in 
t  ti»  jii(lj,'e  of 


3nj^a^T(l  ill 
and  at  tlio 
itrc  of  his 
rly  settled 

en,  quoted 
)se  at  the 
e  desorii)- 
by  ' scan- 
will  hiive 
a  century 
of  Carroll 
■evolution, 
eelaration 
tiis  signa- 
)es  a  cool 
of  being 
»f  Massa- 


have  been 
priest'  was 

here,  e'en 
would  havx. 

a  Itoman 
I  with  the 
esentations 
If  all  the 
le  hundred 


UNIVERSALITY  OF  THE  CUUIK^fl-EARLY  MISSION>     :?59 

To  the  revolutionary  fury  of  Franco,  which  dir<'cted  itH 
tiorcent  rago  ay  inat  the  Church,  that  .strongest  bulwark  of 
civil  government,  was  America  indebted  for  niaiiy  eminent 
scholars  and  (U  vines — ecclesiastic,  pious,  zealous,  learned, 
who  established  seminaries,  fomuhxl  colleges,  s[)i-(nid  the 
faith  with  characteristic  ardour,  nid  tilled  with  distinctit)n 
several  of  the  iirst  sees  in  the  United  States.  Nowhere 
is  the  Catholicity — the  Universality  of  the  Church — more 
strikingly  exhibited  t  n  in  America.  Now  it  is  the 
Spaniard,  now  it  is  the  Frenchman,  now  the  Englishman, 
now  tlie  Irishman,  who  preaches  the  faith  or  sacriiices  his 
hfe  in  its  dangerous  mission ;  and,  as  years  roll  by,  it  is 
the  Irish  masses,  and  then,  thou-h  not  to  so  great  an 
extent,  the  Germans,  who  build  up  iicr  churches,  and  give 
strength  to  her  congregations. 

The  number  of  Cathohcs  having  increased  so  rapidly, 
principally  thrcjugh  emigration,  the  Holy  See  deemed  it 
advisal^le  to  elevate  Baltimore  into  an  archbishopric, 
and  to  appoint  four  suil'ragan  bishops — to  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Bardstown  ;  and  of  th<\so  four 
bishops,  two — the  Right  He  v.  Michael  Egan  and  the  Kight 
Rev.  Luke  Concannon — were  Irishmen.  The  new  bislu)pf^ 
were  ctmsecrated  at  Baltimore  by  Archbishop  Carroll  in 
1810,  at  which  period  the  strength  of  the  Church  was 
represented  by  seventy  priests,  eighty  churches,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  laity. 

From  original  documents  in  his  possession,  Dr.  White 
gives,  in  his  Appendix  to  Darras'  '  General  History  of  the 
Church,'  some  characteristic  letters  from  missionary  priests 
to  their  Bishop,  Dr.  Carroll.  A  passage  or  two  from  these 
letters  will  afford  an  idea  of  missionary  life  in  those  days. 
Considering  the  sharp  provocation  to  its  use,  the  poor  priest's 
strength  of  language  in  the  following,  written  from  West 
Tennsylvania,  is  but  natural.     The  writer  is  an  Irishman  :— 

Your  reverence  (he  writes)  can  have  no  conception  of  uiy  dis- 
tress here,  even  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  for  really  I  have  not  any. 


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860 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


thing  like  a  sufficiency    of  food    such   as  I  get,    and,    indeed,  poor 
and  fiUi.y   it   is.     Most  of  the   Irish,   who,   though  poor,  were    by  far 
the  mofit  generous,  have   now  quit  this  settlement ;    five  or  six  German 
families  alone  remain,  whose  chaplain  I   may  call  myself,  since  I  can- 
not pretend  to  travel  for  want  of  a  horse,  and  those  people,  inde<!d.— 
abstraction  made  of  religion— are  the  last  of  all  mankind  for  senti- 
ments of  humanity.      The  poor  man  I  live  with  is  not  paid  what  was 
promised  for   my  board,  and,  whether  he  intends  it  or  not,  he  treats 
me  accordingly.    Perhaps  he  can't  help  it.     Broad  is  the  sole  support 
of  his  family.      Morning,   noon,  and  night,  flour  and  water,  or  bread 
and    water,   with  a    little  burnt  grease  thrown  over  it,  is  the  sup- 
port of  his  starved  and    almost  perfectly  naked  family.     Since  my 
arrival,  the  only  meat  they  had  was  a  little  pig  about  twenty  or  thirty 
pounds,  and  a  calf  ten  days  old,  of  which  we  eat  this  whole  week, 
till  it  became  musty  and  green  for  want  of  salt.  .  .  ,  Thus  have  I  spent 
five  months  of  a  very  rigorous  Lent,  that  threw  me  into  a  diarrhoea, 
that,  in  such  wretchedness  and  cold,  made  me  pass  a  most  penitential 
winter. 

Aiiotlier  priest  writes  from  Milltown,  Pa.,  in  January 
1799.  After  informing  his  Bishop  that  he  had  a  large 
tract  of  land  about  twenty  miles  from  there,  and  that  he 
had  placed  his  sister,  a  nun,  on  it,  allotting  her  and  her 
Order  five  hundred  acres,  he  requests  him  to  send  him, 
in  the  spring — 

Twenty  Munster  or  Connaught  men,  and  if  they  are  poor,  I'll  pay 
them  as  much  a  year  or  a  day  as  any  other  gentleman  in  the  country, 
provided  they  are  Catholics,  because  there  are  plenty  of  other  descrip- 
tions here  already  ;  but  I  don't  approve  of  it.  Thus  you'll  free  me  from 
a  reprobated  class  of  infamous  Scotch-Irish,  superior  in  all  kinds  of  wick- 
edness, only  in  a  superlative  degree,  to  the  most  vile  convicts.  .  .  . 
This  before  I  would  not  mention  to  you,  until  I  could  be  settled,  in 
dread  you  might  suppose  interested  views  might  oblige  me  to  exag- 
gerate in  my  reports.  .  .  ,  .  In  consequence  of  the  cold,  I  am 
dislodged  from  my  spring  house,  and  obliged  to  turn  into  the  pig-sty 
—that  is,  the  poor  honest  man's  own  ho^ise,  where  cats,  young  dogs, 
and  young  fowls,  both  men  and  their  wives,  sons  and  daughters,  all 
in  one  store-room  comfortably  kennel  together.  Bui  what  is  more 
humourous  is,  that  I  am  kept  in  pledge,  in  this  sweet-scented  situation, 
for  my  quarter's,  diet  and  lodging. 

There  is    something  comical  in    the  bitter  wail  of  dis- 


TWO  GREAT  ORDERS. 


361 


indeed,  poor 
,  were  by  far 
)r  six  German 
f,  since  I  can- 
pie,  mde<!d, — . 
ind  for  senti- 
)aid  what  was 
not,  lie  treats 

2  sole  support 
ater,  or  bread 
t,  is  the  sup- 
^  Since  my 
mty  or  thirty 

whole  week. 

3  have  I  spent 
)  a  diarrhoea, 
ist  penitential 

in  January 
ad  a  large 
nd  that  he 
3r  and  her 
send  him, 

>oor,  I'll  pay 
the  country, 
)ther  descrip- 
free  me  from 
:inds  of  wick- 
■icts,  .  .  . 
le  settled,  in 
me  to  exag- 
cold,  I  am 
)  the  pig-sty 
young  dogs, 
aughters,  all 
■hat  is  more 
3d  situation, 

lil  of  dis- 


tress emanating  from  poor  Father  Whelan,  who  for  many 
years  a  missionary  in  Kentucky,  now,  January  1805,  ad- 
dresses his  Bishop  from  Clay  Creek,  Pennsylvania  :— 

As  to  Thomas  Maguire  and  his  wife,  a  priest  migLt  as  well  go  and 
lodge  in  a  wolf-pen  as  with  them— he  being  a  wild  Irish  savage,  she 
being  either  of  the  Sambo  or  Shawnee  breed,  though  some  say  she  is 
a  Hottentot.  But,  let  the  case  be  as  it  may,  she  is  one  whose  exte- 
rior appearance  and  interior  disposition  differ  totally  from  any  woman 
I  ever  conversed  with.  At  the  second  word,  she  will  give  me  the  lie 
to  my  face.    Her  husband,  though  present,  would  say  nothing  to  all 

tbis No  man  in    Bedlam    suffers  more  than  I  do,  in  the 

company  of  four  wolves.  I  hope  it  is  a  temporal  purgatory,  and  will 
atone  for  some  of  my  sins. 

Among  the  many  great  works  associated  with  the  episco- 
pacy of  Dr.  Carroll,  two  may  be  noticed— the  foundation  of 
the  Jesuit  College  of  Georgetown,  and  the  estabhshment, 
under  Mrs.  Seton,  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Emmetts- 
burg. 

From  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  College  of 
Georgetown  to  the  present  hour,  this  parent  house  of 
Catholic  learning  has  steadily  pursued  a  noble  career  of 
usefulness  and  honour,  educating  thousands  of  the  best 
youth  of  the  country,  preparing  many  of  them  for  the 
most  eminent  position  in  every  walk  of  Ufe,  and  every 
department  of  the  pubhc  service.  And  at  no  period  of  its 
splendid  careef  has  this  first  of  Catholic  American  institu- 
tions held  a  higher  place  in  public  esteem  than  it  does  at 
this  moment.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  walking  through  its 
halls,  and  visiting  its  rich  and  varied  Hbrary,  in  which 
there  are  works  of  the  rarest  kind,  inestimable  in  the  eyes 
of  a  collector.  The  president  is  an  Irishman,  as  distin- 
guished for  his  learning  and  piety,  as  for  his  gifts  as  a 
preacher. 


*1^4|!ft 


To  tv/o  holy  women— one  a  native  of  America,  the  other 

»  native  of  Ireland— is  America  indebted  for  a  gift  beyond 

le 


862 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Measure  priceless,  and  indeed  of  which  no  human  estimato 
can   be  formed— the  foundation  and    introduction  of   two 
Rehgious  Orders,  which,  commencing  under  cii-cumstances 
of  the  greatest    difficulty  and  discouragement,  liave  since 
spread  over  the  face  of  the  continent,  having  their  branches 
in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and  being  in  all  places  where 
they  are  established  the  noblest  exemplars  of  the  Cathohc 
rehgion,  because  the  truest  representatives  of  the  Christian 
virtues.      What  Mrs.   Seton  did  for  the  Order  of  Charity 
in  America,  Mrs.  M'Auley  accomplished  for  the  Order  of 
Mercy  in  Ii-eland  ;  and  not  only  was  the  Order  of  Mercy 
introduced  from  Ireland  into  the  fruitful  soil  of  America, 
but  Ireland— that  exhaustless  fountain  of  the  faith,  whose 
well-spring  is  ever  fuU  of   living  waters— contributed   to 
both  orders  very  many  of  their  most  zealous  and  devoted 
members.*    ' 

In  founding  the  Order  of  the  Daughters  of  Chari.y  in 
the  United  States,  Mrs.  Seton  not  only  rendered  a  lasting 
service  to  rehgion  and  humanity,  but  afforded  the  honest 
doubter,  as  well  as  the  scoffer  and  the  hater  of  CathoHcity, 
the  most  convincing  proof  of  what  it  teaches,  what  it 
practises,  and  what  it  really  is.  Born  in  New  York,  in 
the  year  1774,  of  Protestant  parents,  her  father,  Bv. 
Bayley,  being  an  eminent  physician  of  that  city,  Mrs. 
Seton  was  ever  remarkable  for  singular  sweetness  of  dis- 
position, tenderness  and  compassion  for  every  form  of 
human  distress,  and  a  fervent  piety,  which  found  the  most 


*  Though  somewhat  anticipating,  it  may  be  here  mentioned  that,  of  ihe  Order 
of  Jrercy  in  tlie  United  States,  now  numbering  about  1,300  sisters,  the  large 
majority  of  these  are  Irish-born,  .vhile  the  greater  number  of  the  remainder, 
though  born  in  America,  are  of  Irish  parentage.  The  minority  consists  of  Ameri- 
can, French,  Spanish,  German,  and  other  nationalities.  To  the  convent  in  Carlow 
is  America  indebted  for  the  lirst  colony  of  these  holy  women,  who  were  introduced 
in  1343  by  Bishop  O'Connor  of  Pittsburgh ;  and  to  the  zeal  and  energy  of  .Mother 
U.  F.  Xavier  Warde,  the  first  superioress  of  the  Order  in  the  United  States,  ;./id 
now  superioress  of  tlie  hour^e  in  .Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  are  mainly  due  the 
wonderful  and  rapid  spread  of  this  noble  institution  in  the  New  World.  In  fact, 
Uiis  gifted  lady  cstiiblished  the  principal  houses  throughout  the  Union. 


MRS.  SETON. 


SOS 


eloquent  expression  in  her  conversation  and  in  her  writin-s 
To  those  who  desire  to  witness,  as  it  were,  the  stru-l  .^  of" 
a  Ghnstian  soul,  distracted  by  doubts  springing  from  the 
purest  conscientiousness,  and  yet  impelled  to  the  hght  by 
an  invisible  influence,  we  cordially  commend  the  admirable 
Life  of  Mrs  Seton.'*  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  White  ;  a  work 
that  will  weU  repay  perusal,  whether  by  the  Catholic  or 
the  fair-minded  Protestant. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  this  holy  woman,  this  model 
wife  and  daughter,  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  religious 
demeanour  of  the  poor  Irish  emigrants  of  that  day-the 
opening  of  the  present   century-who  were  detailed  in 
quarantine  at  Staten  Island,  and  attended  by  her  father, 
as  Health  Physician  to  the  Port  of  New  York.     '  The  first 
thing,'  she  says,  'these  poor  people  did,  when  they  got  their 
tents,   was  to   assemble   on   the  grass,   and   all,  kneeling 
adored  our  Maker  for  His  ..orcy  ;  and  every  morning  sun 
Imds    them   repeating    their    praises.'     The   scenes  then 
witnessed  at  Staten  Island  remind  one  of  those  which  were 
so  fatally  fi-equent  in   subsequent   years.     Even   at   that 
time-1800,  and   the   years  following-large    numbers   of 
timigrants  arrived  at  the  port  of  New  York,  suffering  from 
the  dreadful  scourge  of  fever,  so  calamitous  to  the  Irish 
race.     A  striking  picture  of  the  sufferings  of  its  victims  is 

*  'Life  of  Ifrfl.  KJfza  A.  Seton.  Foundress  and  First  Superior  of  the  Sisters  or 
daughters  of  Charity  in  the  Unitad  States  of  America.'    By  Charles  f  White 

A   companion   to  the  'Life  of  Mrs.  geton'  is  the   'Life  of  Catharine  M'AiUey 
Foumlress  and  First  .Superior  of  the  Institute  of  Koligious  Sisters  of  Mercy  •  by 
a  Jfember  of  the  Order  of  Mercy.    Published  by  D.  &  J.  Sadlier  &  Co..  New  York 
Th«  ,s  a  charming  book,  written  with  a  grace,  and  at  times  a  vivacity  and  fresh" 
ess  of  style,  most  delightful.    One  is  led  to  beUeve  that  a  woman  alone-and 
hat  woman  a  good  and    holy  one.  whose  heart  was  in  the  great  work  of  the 
foundress  of  her  Order-could  have  done  justice  to  the  beautifurcharacter  of  tha 
"t    r    '*'°If    '  ^^"""^    daughters,  numbering    about  4,000.  are  now  widely 
ca  tcred  over  the  world,  diffusing  everywhere  the  blessings  of  I  relLuous  I^dus 
m    and  moral  training  to  the  young,  and  performing  those  works  om;ry  by 

l    With  ^roar""''''  '''"  '""""'  "'  '^'"  °^^'"°"'    "  ""^  ^^  ^'"^  ^-''^  P^-'-^ 


864 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


given  in  a  letter," addressed  by  Mrs.  Seton  to  her  sister- 
in-law  : — 

Rebecca,  I  cannot  sleep  ;  the  dying  and  the  dead  poHsess  my  mind 
—babies  expiring  at  the  empty  breast  of  the  expiring  motiier.  And 
this  is  not  fancy,  but  the  scene  that  surrounds  me.  Father  says  that 
such  was  never  Itnown  before ;  that  there  are  actually  twelve  children 
that  must  die  from  mere  want  of  sustenance,  uiuible  to  take  more 
than  the  breast,  and,  from  the  wretchedness  of  their  parents,  deprived 
of  it,  as  they  have  lain  ill  for  many  days  in  the  ship,  without  food, 
air,  or  changing.  Merciful  Father!  Oil,  how  readily  would  I  give 
them  each  a  turn  of  my  child's  treasure,  if  in  my  choice!  But,  Rebecca, 
they  have  a  provider  in  Heaven,  who  will  soothe  the  pangs  of  the 
suffering  innocent. 

She  would  willingly  have  become  a  mother  to  those 
helpless  Uttle  ones,  but  her  father  would  not  permit  her 
to  obey  the  womanly  impulse,  as  her  first  duty  regarded 
her  own  child.  In  1801  her  father  fell  a  victim  to  his 
attendance  on  the  Irish  emigrants.  He  had  directed  the 
passengers  and  crew  of  an  Irish  emigrant  ship,  with  fever 
on  board,  to  go  on  shore  to  the  rooms  and  tents  provided 
for  them,  leaving  their  baggage  behind  ;  but  on  going  into 
the  hospital  the  following  morning,  he  found  that  his 
orders,  given  the  evening  before,  had  been  disobeyed,  and 
that  crew  and  passengers,  men,  women,  and  children,  well, 
sick,  and  dying,  with  all  their  baggage,  were  huddled  to- 
gether in  the  same  room  in  which  thr  had  passed  the  night. 
Into  this  apartment,  before  it  had  been  ventilated,  he 
imprudently  entered,  and  remained  but  a  moraent,  being 
compelled  to  retire  by  deadly  sickness  of  the  stomach  and 
intense  pain  in  the  head,  which  seized  him  immediately 
on  entering  within  its  precincts.*  From  the  bed  to  which 
he  at  once  retired  he  never  rose  again.  This  was  Mrs. 
Seton's  first  great  grief  ;  but  many  times,  in  he*'  af*^^er  life, 
was  her  tender  heart  wrung  by  the  loss  of  those  whom 
Bhe  loved  with  all  the  passionate  strength  of  her  nature. 

*  T hacker 'S  American  Medical  Biography. 


MRS.  SETON  FOUNDS  HER  ORDER. 


3  her  sister- 


8«5 


The  circumstance  of  a  visit  to  Italy,  whither  she  went 
in    company  with    her   dying    husband,    who,   as    a  last 
resource,  sought  the  mild  climate  of  the  South  of  Europe 
ns  his  only  chance  of  recovery,  not  only  confirmed  her  in 
her  previous   intention,  or  desire,  to  become  a  Catholic, 
but  acquired  for  her  the  enduring  friendship  of  a  high- 
minded  and  generous  family  of  Leghorn,  by  name  Fellici, 
to  whose  munificent  assistance  in  her  future  work  she  was 
under  the  deepest  obhgations.     At  length,   and  after  an 
exhausting  mental  conflict,  rendered  more   distressing  by 
the  importunities  and  the  anger  of  her  relatives  and  friends, 
Mrs.  Seton  took  the  final  step,  and  in  the  church  of  St! 
Peter,  New  York,  in  March,  1805,  she  joined  that  Church 
to  which  it  has  been  her  happiness  to  render  the  greatest 
and  most  exalted   services.     By  this  last  act  of  what  her 
friends  regarded  as  spiritual  treason  of  the  most  flagrant 
kind,  Mrs.  Seton  cut  herself  off  for  ever  from  all  com- 
munion with  them  ;    and  some  time  after  she  estabhshed 
m  Baltimore,  under  the  auspices  of  Bishop  CarroU,  and  with 
the  co-operation  of  those  who  knew  her  story  and  respected 
her  character,  a  school  for  young  ladies,  in  which  she  soon 
had  the  requisite  number,  including  her  own   daughters, 
to  whom  she  was  the  fondest  but  the  wisest  of  mothers! 
But  she  was  impeUed  to  a  fuller  development  of  her  own 
desire,  which  was  to  dedicate  herself  to  the  sernce  of  the 
poor  ;  and  how  this  desire  was  fulfiUed  is  thus  told  by  her 
biographer  : — 

About  this  time  another  circumstance  took  place  which  still  more 
plainly  mdicated  the  will  of  God  in  reference  to  the  good  work.  Mr 
Cooper,  who  was  then  a  student  in  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  at  Balti- 
more, intending,  if  such  were  the  divine  will,  to  prepare  himself  for 
be  sacred  mmistry,  possessed  some  properly  ;  and  he  was  desirous  of 
'torally  following  the  maxim  of  the  Gosp.l  :-' Go,  sell  what  thou 
Kast,  and  give  it  to  the  poor,  and  come,  follow  me.'  One  mornln-, 
nnmodiately  after  receiving  the  holy  communion.  Mrs.  Seton  felt 
a  strong  inclinalion  arise  within  her  to  dedicate  herself  to  the  care 
and   mstruotion  of  poor  female  children,  and  to  organise  some  plan 


^ii 


.<! 


m 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


P' 


-  r* 


for  this  purpose  that  might  be  continued   after  ber  death.    She  com- 
raui.ieuted    this   to  the  Rev.  Mr.   Dubourg.     'This   morning,'   she  said, 
•in   my  dear  communion   I   thought,  Dearest  Saviour,  if  you   would 
give    me   the    care    ot  poor  little    children,  no    matte:-    how    poor; 
and    Mr.    Cooper    being    directly    before    me    at    his    thanksgiving, 
I    thought— he    has    money;    if    he     would    but    give    it    for    the 
bringing   up   of  poor  little  children,   to  know  and  love  you!'     Mr. 
Dubourg,  joining  his  hands,  observed   that  it  was  very  strange ;  for 
Mrs.  Seton   had  not  mentioned  the    subject  to  any   one  else.     'Mr. 
Cooper,'  said   he,  'spoke   to  me  this  very  morning   of  his   thoughts' 
being  all  for  poor  children's    instruction,   and    if   he  had  somebody 
to  do  it  he  would  give  his  money  for  that  purpose;    and  he  won- 
dered if  Mrs.  Seton  would    be  willing  to  undertake  it.'      The  good 
priest  wa«  struck  at  the  coi 'cldence  of  their  views,  and  ho  requested 
them  each  to  reflect  upon  thi,  subject  for  the  space  of  a  month,  and 
then  to  acquaint  him    with  the  result.      During  this    time  there  was 
no   interchange  of    opinion  between  Mrs.    Seton   and  Mr.  Cooper  in 
relation  to   tlieir  wishes  ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  it  they  both  re- 
turned separately  to  Mr.  Dubourg,  renewing   the  sentiments  they  had 
expressed  before,  one  offering  a  portion  of  his  temporal  means,*  and 
the  other  her  devoted  services  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  sufferinrr 
members  of  Christ.      The  providence  of  God  in  behalf  of  the  Ameri"- 
can  Church  was  so  clearly  indicated  in  the  circumstances  just  related 
that  little  room  was    left    for  deliberation.      Bishop  Carroll    having 
been   informed  of  the  design,  gave  his  warmest  approbation  to  it,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Rev.   Francis  Nagot,  the  saintly  superior  of  St. 
Mary's  Seminary  ;    and  the  only  question  that  now  presented    itself 
for  consideration  was  in    reference   to    the  locality  of  the  intended 
establishment. 

Tlie  two  ladies  who  first  joined  Mrs.  Seton,  were  Miss 
Cecilia  O'Conway  and  Miss  Maria  Murphy ;  and  among 
those  who  formed  the  little  community  of  Emmettsburg— 
the  locality  selected  for  the  parent  house  of  the  Order  in 
America,  we  find  such  names  as  Maria  Burke  and  Cathe- 
rine Mullen ;  proving  that,  in  this  infant  institution,  the 
Irish  element  was  not  wanting.  In  a  miserable  httle 
house  of  le  storey  and  a  garret,  sixteen  persons,  including 
the  female  children  of  Mrs.  Seton,  were  crowded  ;  and 
here  the  holy  women,  who  were  destined  to  prove  the 
mos+,  eminent  benefactors  to  religion  and  humanity,  suf- 
fered hardships  and  privations  which  they  yet  bore  with 

*  Eight  thousand  dollars. 


EARLY  DIFFICULTIES  AND  nilVAnONS.  367 

cheerltilnoss.     At   times,  indeed,  they  were  reduced  to  a 
coiiditioir  of  absolute  destitution.     To  supply  the  pla^^o  of 
Goffee,  they  manufactured  a  beverage  from  carrots,   which 
tliey  sweetened  with  molasses :  and  their  rye  bread  was  of 
the  coarsest  description.     For  months  they  were  reduced 
to  such  absolute  want  that  they  did  not  know  where  the 
next   day's  meal  was  to   come   from.     On   Christmas-day 
they  considered    themselves    fortunate    in    having    some 
smoked  herrings  for  dinner,  and  a  spoonful  of  molasses 
for  each.*     By  her  anti-Catholic  friends  Mrs.   Seton  was 
denounced  as  'the  pest  of  society,'  ajid  'a  hypocrite  and  a 
bigot,'  they  visiting  on  her  the  early  death   of  two  loved 
members  of  her  own  family  who,  braving  the  trials  of  her 
exalted  mission,   died    in    the    early    bloom    of    youthful 
womanhood.     As,   with    some    modifications    to    suit    the 
constitution  of  different  rehgious  communities,  the  objects 
contemplated  by  the  Daughters  of  Charity  are  those  com- 
mon to  several  orders  in  America,  it  may  be  weU  to  state 
their  objects,  as  given  by  Mrs.  Seton's  biographer  :— 

The  end  which  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  St.  Joseph  proposed  to 
tbomsolves  was.  to  honour  our  Lord  Josus  Christ  as  the  source  and 
model  of  all  charity,  by  rendering  to  Him  every  temporal  and  spiritual 
service  in  their  power,  in  the  persons  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  prisoners, 
and  others  ;  also  to  honour  the  Sacred  infancy  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the 
young  persons  of  their  sex  whom  they  may  be  called  upon  to  form  to 
virtue,  while  they  sow  in  their  minds  the  seeds  of  useful  knowledg.?. 
Thus  the  poor,  of  all  descriptions  and  ages,  the  sick,  invalids,  found- 
lings, orphans,  and  even  insane  persons,  were  embraced  within  the 
sphere  of  Ihcir  solicitude  and  care.  Another  object  of  their  zeal,  no 
less  important  at  that  time  in  America,  was  the  instruction  of  young 
persons  of  their  sex  in  virtue,  piety,  and  various  branches  of  usend 
learning. 

And  these,  and  such  as  these,  were  then,  and  have  been 
even  to  this  day,  described  as  Mrs.  Scton  was  described  by 
her  anti-Catholic  friends— ' pests  of  society,'  'hypocrites 
and  bigots ! ' 

Philadelphia  was  the  first  place  to  which   a   branch  of 

♦  Life  of  Mrs.  Seton. 


id    - 


868 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


i1- 


the  order  was  extended;    and  the  care  of  the  orphans 
.vhoso  parcutH  liad  perinhod  of  yeUow  fever  offered  a  fittin.^ 
opportunity  for    the   exercise    of   their  charity.      Their's 
however   was   a  hard   trial  for  a  considerable  time,  not: 
v.  hH tandmg  the  sympathy  shown  to  then,  and  the  assist- 
ance  they  received.     The  Sisters  had  nothing  beyond  the 
coarsest  fare,  and  not  always  sufficient  of  that.     For  three 
mon  hs  they  had  no  bread  whatever,  subsisting  whoUy  on 
potatoes,  which  formed  their  principal  article  of  diet  for 
heir  first  year.     Their  'coffee'  was   made   of  corn,  and 
their  fuel  was  gathered  from  the  tanyards.     'One  day,  the 
Sisters  being  to  much  occupied  at  home,  an  orphan  wa. 
despatched  to  the  market  with  twelve   and  a  half  cents 
a//  the  money  in  the  home,  to  buy  a  shin  of  beef.     A  few 
hours  after,  the  child  returned  to  the  asylum  with  a  large 
piece  of    meat,   telling    the   Sisters  that  an   old  market- 
woman,   finding  that  she   was   one   of  the   orphans,   had 
given  her  the  money  and  meat,  and  authorised  her  to  caU 
upon   her  for  assistance    whenever  they  were   in    want. 
Ihis   old  woman  became  a  generous    friend  of  the  in- 
stitution.    By  the   benevolence   of   herself  and  others  it 
graduaUy  acquired  ample  resources,  and  was  enabled  to 
maintam  under  its  charitable  roof  an  increasing  number 
of  orphans.' 

The  holy  foundress  of  the   order  went  to  her  eternal 
reward  on  the  4th  January,  1821,  in  the  47th  year  of  her 
age,  her  death  being  as  edifying  as  her  life. 
^    From  the  very  first  formation  of  the  Order  of  Charity 
m  the  United  States,  there  were  to  be  found  in  the  infant 
institution  ladies  of  Irish  birth  and  Irish  parentage  ;  and 
as  it  gathered  strength,  and  its  branches  spread  from  State 
to  State,  the  Irish  element  was  ever  strong  in  its  commu- 
nities.    How  attractive  the  great  work  of  this  order  has 
proved  to  Irish  piety  may  be  leo.rned  from  a  passage  in  a 
letter  fi-om  a  Sister  ol  St.  Joseph's  Academy,  Emmettsburg 
dated  June  3,  1867,  and  addressed  to  a  reverend  friend  of 


IRISH  SISTERS. 


801 


the  orphans 
sred  a  fitting 
■>y.     Their'8, 

0  time,  not- 

1  the  assist- 
beyond  the 

For  three 
g  wholly  on 

of  diet  for 
I  corn,  and 
ne  day,  the 
arphan  wan 

half  centh, 
Dof.  A  few 
vith  a  largo 
Id  market- 
phans,   had 

her  to  call 
I  in  want, 
of  the  in- 
i  others  it 
enabled  to 
3g  number 

ler  eternal 
ear  of  her 

of  Charity 
the  infant 
fcage ;  and 
from  State 
s  commu- 
order  has 
issage  in  a 
aettsburg, 
friend  of 


mine:  'The  number  of  Irish  sisters  now  living,  and  in 
'our  community,  amounts  to /our  hundred  and  ten.  This 
'speaks  well  of  the  piety  of  the  Emerald  Isle.' 

The  prosperous  branch  of  the  order  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  though  founded  from  the  mother  house  at  Emmetts- 
burg,  and  based  on  the  same  principles  and  constitution, 
and  doing  the  same  work,  is  altogether  independent. 
It  numbers  several  hundred  sisters,  the  majority  of  whom 
are  Irish.  The  order,  wherever  it  is  estabhshed,  embraces 
within  its  ranks  a  considerable  number  of  Sisters  of  Irish 
descent  as  well  as  of  Irish  birth. 


m 

Hi 
■■■■  i 


'-^'i* 


370 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


fmm- 


:«• 


rf 


Bishop  Connolly's  Notc-]]ook— Laity'fl  Directory  for  1822--r)r. 
Kirwan  previous  to  tiis  Ap<>stacy--Tlic  Church  in  1822--l'ro- 
grcH3  in  1834— How  the  Faith  was  LoHt. 

AN  extract  or  two,  taken  from  a  note-book,  unhappily 
only  a  fragment,  kept  by  Dr.  Connolly,  Bishop  of  New 
York,  and  quoted  by  Bishop  Bayley  in  his  '  Brief  Sketch/ 
will  tell  us  something  of  the  Irish  of  his  day,  as  also  of 
the  condition  of  his  diocese,  which  comprised  the  whole  of 
the  State  of  New  York  and  part  of  New  Jersey. 

March  10th,  1810.— Wrote  to  Dr.  Troy  an  account  of  my  voyago 
to  America;  illness  here  for  nearly  two  months.  Catholics  dispersed 
through  the  country  parts  of  the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  New  England,  vMere  they  seldom  see  a  priest:  they  are 
not  able  to  maintain  one  in  any  particular  district— ambulatory  zea- 
lous priests,  necessary  for  them  to  prevent  their  children  from  con- 
forming to  the  persuasions  cf  neighbouring  sectaries,  who  all  of  them 
have  their  respective  ministers.  Only  four  priests  in  this  diocese, 
though  the  Catholics  of  New  York  and  its  district  are  about  seventeen 
thousand. 

Feb.  25ih,  1818 At  present  there  are  here  about  six- 
teen thousand  Catholics,  mostly  Irish;  at  least  ten  thousand  Irish 
Catholics  arrived  at  New  York  only  within  these  last  three  years.  They 
spread  through  all  the  other  States  of  this  Confederacy,  and  make 
their  religioii  known  everywhere.  Bishops  ought  to  be  granted  to 
whatever  State  here  is  willing  to  build  a  Cathedral,  as  Norfolk  lm» 
done.  The  present  Dioceses  are  quite  too  extensive.  Our  cathodnil 
owes  53,000  dollars,  borrowed  to  build  it,  for  which  it  pays  interest  at 
the  rate  of  7  per  cent,  yearly.  This  burthen  hinders  us  from  sup- 
porting a  sufficient  number  of  priests,  or  from  thinking  to  erect  a 
seminary.  The  American  youth  have  an  almost  invincible  repugnance 
to  the  eccleeiastical  state. 


LAITY'S  DIRECTORY  FOR  1822. 


871 


822-Dr. 
22-^Pro- 


unhappily 
lop  of  New 
cf  Sketchj' 
as  also  of 
le  whole  of 


r  my  voyago 
lc8  (lispcrsod 
I,  New  York, 
iest :  they  are 
bulatory  zca- 
m  from  con- 
all  of  them 
this  diocese, 
ut  seventeen 

•e  about  six- 
Tusand  Irish 
years.    They 
7',  and  make 
granted   to 
Norfolk  liiis 
in*  cathodnil 
^s  interest  at 
13  from  Slip- 
to  erect  a 
!  repugnance 


Tlio  uaiiies  of  tbo  prioHts  ordaiued  by  Dr.  Connolly— 
O'Gorman,  Bulger,  Kelly,  Breunau,  Hhaiiahan,  and  Oonroy 
— are  sufficient  evidence  of  the  country  ^»'oni  which  the 
infiUit  Church  of  the  United  States  obtained  tlu!  greater 
imuiber  of  its  pastors.  Dr.  Bayley  mentions  one  of  the 
many  amusing  incidents  in  the  missionary  life  of  Father 
Bulger,  whose  ardent  zeal  and  buoyant  spirits  enabled 
him  to  bear  up  against  many  hardships,  and  not  a  few 
insults  ;  for  the  horror  of  *  Priests  and  Topery,'  as  Bishop 
Carroll  said  of  Boston,  was  '  incredible.'  Trudging  along 
one  day  on  foot,  carrying  a  bundle,  containing  his  vest- 
ments and  breviary,  under  his  arm,  Father  Bulger  was  over- 
taken by  a  farmer  and  his  wife  in  a  waggon.  The  farmer 
invited  Mr.  Bulger  to  ride ;  but  it  having  come  out  in  the 
course  of  conversation  that  ho  was  a  priest,  the  ' » 'to  de- 
clared that  she  would  not  remain  with  him  in  the  waggon, 
and  ho  was  obliged  to  get  out  and  resume  his  journey  on 
foot.  But  the  strange  part  of  the  story  is,  that  the  farmer 
afterwards  applied  to  Father  Bulger  for  instructions,  and 
became  a  Catholic. 

The  most  authentic  and  accurate  information  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  American  Church  towards  the  latter  part 
of  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  is  a£forded  by 
the  'Laity's  Directory'  for  1822.*  This  little  compilation 
deserves  notice,  not  only  because  of  the  contrast  it  offers 
to  the  great  volume  of  the  present  day,  but  that  it  enables 
us  to  behold  how  feeble  and  comparatively  insignificant  was 
the  Catholic  body  of  the  first  quarter  of  this  century  as  com- 
pared with  its  present  magnitude  and  power.  At  the  time 
it  was  published,  not  many  pages  were  required  for  the  or- 
dinary purposes  of  a  directory  and  calendar  ;  and  on  ana- 
lysing the  138  pages  of  which  the  Httle  volume  is  composed, 
I  find  there  are  not  more  than  50  devoted  to  such  purpose  ; 
and  of  these  50  pages  10  are  occupied  with  obituaries  of 

*  To  the  kindness  of  Mr.  John  Gilmary  Shea  I  am  indebted  for  the  use  of  copies 
of  a  Laity's  Directory  for  1822  and  1833— the  former  published  at  N'ew  York,  the 
latter  at  Baltimore. 


••fit  • 


872 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


'^*"' 

^1 

1 

sit 

■t 

'^~^lr?^ 

i! 

%^ 


deceased  predates  and  priests,  and  11  more  are  devoted  to  a 
single  institution,  and  an  account  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
in  tlie  United  States.  In  fact,  less  than  a  dozen  pages  of 
Sadher's  voluminous  directory  of  the  present  year  would 
amply  suffice  for  an  epitome  of  the  ecclesiastical  intelli- 
gence of  1822.  But,  according  to  the  advertisement,  it 
was  intended  'to  accompany  the  Missal*  with  a  viow  to 
facilitate  the  use  of  the  same.'  Revised  and  corrected  by 
an  eminent  Irish  Priest — the  Rev.  John  Power  of  New 
York — it  testifies  in  every  line  of  its  historical  and  de- 
scriptive mattei  to  his  piety  and  eloquence. 

Among  other  offerings  to  the  ^aity,  it  contains  *ANew 
Year'c  Gift  for  the  Year  1822  ; '  and  though  a  somewhat 
strange  New  Year's  gift,  it  must  have  been  welcome  and 
valuable  at  the  time.     It  is  a  *  Discourse  on  Religious  In- 
novations,' delivered  by  the  Rev.  Walter  Blake  Kirwan,  at 
the  Neapolitan  Ambassador's  Chapel,  in  London,  on  the 
20th  March,  1786.     Having,  a  short  time  after  the  delivery 
of  this  remarkable  discourse,  abandoned  the  church  which 
in  that   discourse  he  so  vigorously  and,  one  might  say, 
fiercely  defended,  his  apostacy  was  a  source  of  great  scan- 
dal to  the  faithful,  and  of  corresponding  triumph  to  their 
opponents.     From  the  published  sermons  of  Mr.  Kirwan 
this  discourse  was  omitted,  *  doubtless,'  says  the  Editor  of 
the  Directory,  '  because  his  family  had  no  reason  to  be  so- 
licitous to  promote  its  publicity  ;  his  fall  must  to  them  have 
been  a  subject  of    grief  and  humiliation  :   and  they   felt 
poignantly  that  it  could  not  exalt  his  memory,  since  the 
talents  and  impressive  truths  it  displays  are  not  more  con- 
spicuous tlian  that  deplorable  frailty  which  so  soon  after- 
wards induced  himself  to   become  a  striking  example  of 
what  he  had  therein  so  wisely  and  eloquently  deprecated.' 

The  publication  of  this  remarkable  discourse  was  no 
doubt  intended  to  answer  the  revilers  of  that  day,  and  per- 
haps strengthen  faith  which  was  then  exposed  to  many 
perils.      Reading  it,  one  can  scarcely  avoid  arriving  at  one 


DR.  KIRWAN  PREVIOUS  TO  HIS  APOSTACY.  378 


or  other  of  two  conclusions,— either  that  he  wa^  a  hyi)ocrite 
of  the  most  daring  description,  or  that  he  was  seized  with 
some  sudden  rehgious  vertigo,  in  which  he  saw  everything 
through  a  distorted  medium.  Thus,  for  instance,  he  says, 
'Yet in  what  terms  of  sufficient  indignation  shaU  I  speak 
of  that  profaneness  which  has  branded  her  (the  Church's) 
ceremonies  and  discipHne  with  the  foul  and  opprobrious 
epithets  of  pageantry  and  abuse  ?  I  beHeve,  nay,  I  am  con- 
fident, wheQ  I  assert  that  such  ill-founded  and  scandal- 
ous reflections  are  received,  even  by  those  who  dissent  from 
us— by  the  thinking  and  informed  part  of  the  Church  of 
England— with  the  utmost  contempt  for  the  person  that 
utters  them,  with  a  perfect  detestation  of  his  perfidy. 

Keferring  to  a  point  of  general  discipline  in  the  Catholic 
Church  which  was  then,  and  has  been  often  since,  the  sub- 
ject of  comment  and  attack,  that  of  'performing  the  public 
service  in  Latin,'  he  shows  how  it  estabhshes  uniformity, 
and  prevents  confusion  ;  '  because  natural  languages  are 
subject  to  decay  and  corruption,  and  in  the  space  of  a  cen- 
tury may  have  undergone  a  total  change  as  to  the  meaning 
and  acceptation  of  words  and  phrases ;  the  consequence 
must  be  that  error  and  obscuiity  might  insensibly  steal 
into  the  Liturgy.  Because,'  he  adds,  'in  the  same  king- 
dom, for  instance  in  this  island,  which  is  but  a  speck  upon 
the  expanse  of  Europe,  public  service  would  be  read  in 
three  different  tongues,  English,  Welsh,  and  Erse.  Hence 
what  confusion  would  arise,  even  in  the  Liturgy  of  this  na- 
tion, insomuch  that  were  one  of  you  to  be  present  at  the 
mass  in  Wales,  or  in  some  part  of  Scotland,  not  to  speak 
of  Ireland,  you  might  as  well  hear  it  in  the  language  of 
Hindostan.'    He  thus  sums  up  this  part  of  his  discourse  : 

'  In  whatever  point  of  view  I  consider  this  matter,  I  am 
persuaded  that  to  alter  the  present  practice  would  be  an 
unwise  and  dangerous  reform.  That  such  a  measure  might 
have  been  demanded  in  too  insolent  a  manner,  may  perhaps 
be  triwi ;  but  that  it  had  not  been  acceded  to,  because  we 


*5«, 


HI 


374 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEUICA. 


w-i 


t 


are  irri  ated  by  petulant  reflections,  or  not  disposed  to  pray 
m  the  language  of  a  Lutli(  r,  a  Calvin,  or  an  Elizabeth,  is 
not  the  case  ;  but  because  the  Church  judges  it  expedient 
to  preserve  uniformity  in  her  service,  and  secure  it  from 
change,  corruption,  and  confusion.' 

With  these  passages-defending  the  use  of  ceremonies- 
we  may  turn  from  the  New  Years'  Gift  offered  in  the 
Laity  s  Directory  of  1822  : 

If  there  is  any  faith  to  be  given  to  the  attestations  of-the  primitive 
wruers  of  Christianity,  and  usages   of    the  Church,  from  the   earliest 

nSir  ;  ^"'^""'""  ""'''''''  '"  '^"^  P"^'^'^  -vice  a."  at 
Therhn  *;  t  "-TT  ""  ^'""^''^^-^^"'^  ^---1  ft-om  ^he  Apostles. 
The  Church  has  judged  it  expedient  to  institute  additional  ones-  her 
power  is  from  Christ.  ' 

_  The  use  of  ceremony  is  to  maintain  order,  decency,  and  uniformity 
m  the  exterior  acts  of  religion  ;  to  raise  and  elevatL  the  mind  To  a 
proper  contemplation  of  our  mysteries,  and  to  inspire  respect  and  awe 
for  the  supreme  majesty  of  God.  How  much  they  conduce  to  this 
gi-eat  object,  every  one's  experience  bears  ample  testimony.  The 
strongest  impressions  are  produced  on  the  mind  through  the  medium 
of  the  senses  The  animal  part  of  man  fetters  and  clogs  the  powe" 
of  he  sou  ,  checks  its  activity,  and  blunts  the  edge  of  il  conception. 
The  saci-ed  pomp  of  religion  was  designed,  therefore,  as  an  auxiliary 
to  assist  the  efforts  of  the  mind,  and  give  a  spring  to  its  operations. 

In  1822  the  number  of  churches  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  United  States  did  not  much  exceed  one  hundred  • 
and  m  some  of  the  States  not  only  was  there  no  church' 
but  a  priest  was  never  seen  by  their  scattered  population  \ 
so  that  If  they  kept  the  faith,  they  did  so  by  a  miracle  of 
grace. 

The  diocese  of  Baltimore  had  then  more  than  one-third 
c.  all  the  churches-meaning  thereby  aU  the  missions-in 
the  states.  Baltimore  boasted  at  that  time  of  thirty-nine 
(Churches,  and  several  institutions,  educational  and  charitable 

Cathohcity  had  a  hard  struggle  to  make  any  way  in  the 
New  England  States,  the  historic  stronghold  of  the  Puritans 
It  was  nevertheless  making  progress,  but  slowly  ;  nor  was 

it     until     WnVP     nffov     tTTntrr^      ^t      ^„,.- J.'_.  P  T        -  -! 

'^-^    """^^  ^^  ciiiigriiiiou  from  Ireland  was 


THE  CHURCH  IN  1822. 


375 


osed  to  pray 
Elizabeth,  is 
it  exjjedient 
mre  it  from 

eremonies — 
3red   in   the 

■the  primitive 
n  the  earliest 
rvice  and  ad- 
i  the  Apostles, 
nal  ones;  her 

nd  uniformity 
he  mind  to  a 
pect  and  awe 
idiice  to  this 
imony.      The 

the  medium 
js  the  powers 
M  conception. 

an  auxiliary 
rations. 

the  whole 

hundred ; 

no  church, 

opulation  ; 

miracle  of 

I  one-third 
Lssions — in 
;hirty-ninc 
charitable, 
vay  in  the 
)  Puritans. 
;  nor  was 
eland  was 


directed  to  its  shores,  that  these  States  began  to  feel  the 
influence  of  the  Catholic  element.  The  diocese  of  Boston 
comprehended  at  that  time— 1822— the  entire  of  the  New 
England  States,  including  Maine ;  and  in  all  these  States 
there  were  but  six  churches,  two  of  which  were  in  the  city 
of  Boston.  There  was  one  at  Salem,  one  at  Now  Bedford, 
and  two  in  the  State  of  .Maine,  thus  leaving  districts  of 
enormous  extent  without  church  or  priest.  To  two  noble 
French  clergymen— Bishop  Cheverus  and  his  Vicar-General, 
Dr.  Matignon — was  due  the  exalted  merit  of  having  ren- 
dered Catholicity  respected  in  Boston.  They  were  learned, 
pious,  zealous,  indefatigable,  and  of  the  most  amiable  dis- 
position and  concihatory  manners.  They  failed  not,  we 
are  told  by  the  Editor  of  the  Laity's  Directory,  in  a  short 
time  to  win  the  hearts  and  gain  the  affections  of  their  dis- 
senting brethren.  'Prejudices  soon  began  to  disappear, 
inquiries  after  truth  to  be  made^  numbers  successively  to 
join  their  little  society ;  and  at  this  present  time  the 
church  of  Boston  forms  a  very  prominent  feature  in  the 
CathoHc  body  of  the  United  States.  O,  truly  fortunate 
revolution  in  France !  every  true  Catholic  in  this  country 
may  exclaim,  which  has  brought  so  many  edifying  and  en- 
lightened instructors ! ' 

In  1822  the  diocese  of  New  York,  which  comprehended 
the  whole  of  the  State  of  New  York,  together  with  the 
northern  part  of  Jersey,  possessed  but  seven  churches  ;  and 
including  the  Bishop,  Dr.  Connolly,  who  discharged  the 
ordinary  duties  of  the  humblest  missionary,  the  number 
of  priests  did  not  exceed  nine.  Two  of  the  churches  were 
in  New  York  ;  the  others  being  in  Albany,  Utica,  Auburn, 
New  Jersey,  and  Carthage.  The  clergyman  officiating  at 
Albany  occasionally  visited  Troy,  Lansingburgh,  Johns- 
town, and  Schenectady.  Under  the  head  of  the  *  Clergy- 
men officiatmg  in  the  diocese,'  we  find  the  following  items, 
alike  indicative  of  the  laborious  duties  of  the  clergy  and  the 
spiritual  iestitution  of  the  scattered  flocks  : — 


876 


THE  IRISPI  IN  AME.,. 


i  ^'*'^  w 


*Eev.  Patrick  Kelly,  Auburn,  Rochester,  and  other  dis- 
tricis  in  the  Western  part  of  this  State. 

'Rev.  Philip  Larissy  attends  regularly  at  Staten  Is- 
land, and  different  other  congregations  along  the  Hudson 
lUver.*  -  ' 

Philadelphia,  which  included  Pennsylvania  and  Dela- 
ware, was  a  comparatively  flourishing  diocese,  with  fifteen 
churches.  *It  is  pleasing  to  reflect,'  says  the  Editor  of 
the  Laity's  Directory,  'that  at  the  present  day  the  pro- 
fessors of  Catholicity  make  up  nearly  one-fifth  of  the 
population  of  the  city.'  Even  then  the  Irish  were  strong 
in  Philadelphia. 

The  Bishopric  of  Bardstown  was  then  of  'prodigious  ex- 
tent,' comprehending  the  States  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  with  the  Michigan  and  North 
Western  Territories.     A  few  years  back  all  these  countries 
were  little  better  than  a   wilderness,  and  with  scarcely  a 
CathoHc  to  be  seen  in  them  ;  and  though  we  are  tcld,  in 
the  Directory,  that  they  formed,  in  1822,  '  one  of  the  most 
populous   flourishing   portions    of  Catholic   America,'    we 
must  only  say  the  Cathohcs  were  left  very  much  to  them- 
selves ;   for  in  the   entire   ol   this  diocese— we   shall  not 
state  how  many  times  larger  than  the  United  Kingdom- 
there  were   but   nineteen  churches,  the  majoi'ity  of   them 
of  wood.     We    are   not,   therefore,    surprised   to   read   a 
passage  hke  this— 'There   are   yet   parts  of  this  country 
in  which  many  Cathohcs  have  settled  (chiefly  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  great  lakes)  who  have  not  yet  seen  the  face  of  a 
Catholic  clergyman.' 

The  diocese  of  Louisiana,  which  included  the  whole  of 
ancient  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas,  was  then  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  of  the  domains  of  the  Church.  It  had 
a  considerable  staff  of  priests  when  compared  with  the 
other  dioceses,  though  there  were  many  portions  of  this 
extensive  region  in  which  the  voice  of  the  minister  of 
reliffion  wns  -ne^rvp^v  hc^fvYtl 


id  other  dis- 

Staten  Is- 
the   Hudson 

and  Dela- 
with  fifteen 
e  Editor  of 
ay  the  pro- 
ifth  of  the 
were  strong 

)digious  ex- 
Tennessee, 
and  North 
se  countries 
I  scarcely  a 
are  tcld,  in 
of  the  most 
nerica,'  we 
h  to  them- 
i  shall  not 
Kingdom — 
:y  of  them 
to  read  a 
lis  country 
n  the  bor- 
e  face  of  a 

3  whole  of 
one  of  the 
h.  It  had 
[  with  the 
)ns  of  tliia 
inister   of 


PROGRESS  IN  1834. 


377 


In  the  diocese  of  Richmond,  which  embraced  the  whole 
of  Virginia,  there  were  but  seven  churches ;  and  in  the 
famous  Bishopric  of  Charleston,  to  v/hich  Dr.  England 
lent  such  undying  lustre,  CathoHcity  had  ma,de  but  little 
progress  at  that  time. 

The  diocese  of  Charleston  included  North  Carohna,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia.  In  1822,  or  two  years  after  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  England  to  the  see,  there  was  but  one 
church  in  the  City  of  Charleston ;  there  was  no  church  in 
North  Carohna,  and  no  church  in  South  Carohna,  though 
churches  'were  intended  to  be;'  while  in  Georgia  there 
were  three  churches,  one  in  Savannah,  one  in  Augusta, 
and  one  at  Locust  Grove.  In  this  vast  diocese  there  was 
ample  field  for  the  energies  of  the  most  zealous  missionary: 
and  we  shall  hereafter  see  how  vigorously  the  most  illus- 
trious bishop  of  his  day  girded  his  loins  to  his  great  work. 
There  were  as  yet,  we  are  informed,  no  Catholic  schools 
in  any  part  of  the  diocese,  but  active  exertions  were  then 
being  made  by  Dr.  England  to  diffuse  a  correct  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  the  Cathoho  Church,  through  the 
estabhshment  of  societies  which  had  for  their  object  the 
dissemination  of  books  of  piety  and  instruction. 

We  now,  with  the  aid  of  'The  Metropolitan  GathoUc 
Calendar  and  Laiti/s  Directory  for  1834,'  pass  over  a 
period  of  twelve  years.  This  httle  volume,  not  greater  in 
size  than  that  pubhshed  at  New  York  in  1822,  was 
printed  in  Baltimore ;  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  read  in 
it  the  following  description  of  the  position  of  the  Church 
in  this  favoured  diocese. 

'Baltimore  has,  not  improperly,  been  styled  the  Rome 
of  the  United  States;  and,  indeed,  whether  we  consider 
the  monuments  of  rehgion,  rare  and  magnificent  of  their 
kind,  or  the  spier  ("laTr  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  church,  or 
the  number,  respectubihty,  and  piety  of  those  who  profess 
the  Cathohc  faith,  there  is  no  one  who  could  question  the 
justice  of  her  claim,  or  attempt  tc  deprive  her  of  the  glory 
of  her  title.' 


'\\ 


;4 

w 


378 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEHICA. 


l,"^ 


We   find   four   now  diocoscs   in  tlio  year  1834,  namely, 
that  of  Cincinnati,  establislied  in  1823,  St.  Louis  in  1827,' 
i\r()l)ilo    in    1825,   and    Micliij,^in    in    1823.      Of    the    old 
di()C(3sc!H,    wo    discrover  more    api)aront    prof,n'css    in    that 
of    Boston,   in   which   twonty-six    churches   are   well   dis- 
tributed tliroujjfh  its  diiferent   States.     Thus,  while   thero 
are    nine    in    Massachusetts,   there    are    three    in   Rhode 
Island,  two  in  Connecticut,  two   in  New  Hampshire,  two 
in  Vermont,  and  six  in  Maine.     This  improved  condition 
of  tilings  denotes  that  the  Irish  Catholics  were  even  then 
maldng    their  way  in    the    home    of    the   New  Enf>-land 
Puritan.     New  York,  with  a  wonderful  future  before  it,  has 
still   but   nineteen   churches   throu^rliout  its  vast  diocese; 
while   Charleston,   under  the   vi<Torous    administration    of 
Bishop  En'.dand,  has  already  twelve,  but  with  only  twelve 
priests  for  its  three  States. 

The  Rehgious  Orders  are  making  themselves  known 
in  several  of  the  dioceses,  where  their  value  is  already 
thoroughly  appreciated.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  have 
established  twenty-five  branches  in  seven  dioceses,  these 
taking  the  charge  and  management  of  academies,  free 
schools,  asylums,  infirmaries,  and  hospitals. 

In  1820,  when  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore 
.was  held,  which  was  attended  by  the  Archbishop  of  Bal- 
timore and  five  bishops,  four  being  absent,  the  assembled 
Prelates  expressed  their  gratitude  to  God  for  the  increase 
of  the  Church,  whose  position  is  accurately  stated  in  the 
following    enumeration  :  — 11    dioceses,    10    bishops,    232 
priests,  230  churches,  9  ecclesiastical  seminaries  8  colleges, 
20  female  academies,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  at  least 
half  a  milhon.     In  four  of  the  dioceses,  Baltimore,  Rich- 
mond, New  Orleans,  and  St.  Louis,  the  number  of  priests 
was  132,  thus  leaving  but  100  for  New  York,  Boston,  Phila- 
delphia,   Bardstown,   Charleston,    Cincinnati,  and   Mobile. 
The  progress,  such  as  it  was,  was  considerable,  taking  into 
account  the  difficulties  with  which  the  infant  Church  had 


now  THE  FAITII  WAS  LOST. 


879 


"^34,  namely, 
uis  in  1827, 
Of  the  old 
3SS  in  that 
■o  well  dis- 
while  thcro 
i  in  Ehode 
ipshir(3,  two 
d  condition 
B  even  then 
w  England 
cfoie  it,  has 
Lst  diocese  ; 
atration  of 
only  twelve 

:ves  known 
I  is  already 
arity  have 
;cses,  these 
emies,   free 

'  Baltimore 
lop  of  Bal- 

assembled 
he  increase 
lied  in  the 
shops,    232 

8  colleges, 
of  at  least 
lore,  Rieh- 

of  priests 
ton,  Phila- 
-d  Mobile, 
alving  into 
hurch  had 


to  contend,  especially  the  want  of  churches  and  jjastors 
for  fiist-growing  congregations,  and  the  various  hostile 
influences  arrayed  everywhere  against  the  faith.  Li  the 
Directory  of  1834,  wo  frequently  read  such  announce- 
ments as  these — '  mass  occasionally  ' — *  mass  every  two 
months  ' — '  mass  once  a  month  ' — '  mass  twice  a  month.' 
The  '  occasionally '  was  in  those  tim.es,  and  for  years  after- 
wards, a  word  of  large  significance,  and  luight  mean  once 
a  year,  or  once  in  three  years,  as  was  in  many  instances 
the  case.  If  a  certain  proj)ortion  of  the  Irish  emigrants 
did  lose  their  faith,  the  explanation  is  obvious.  It  may, 
however,  bo  given  from  an  authority  that  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned; namely,  the  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Archbishop 
and  Bishops  of  the  Seciond  Council  of  Brdtimore,  dated 
the  2nd  of  October,  1833  ;  from  which  the  following  pas- 
sage is  taken  : — 

In  viewing  the  mernbors  of  our  fiociks  who  aro  sproatl  abroad  over 
the;  surface  of  tliis  country,  and  the  comparatively  small  number  of 
our  clergy,  we  have  often  been  forced  to  deplore  tht  destitution  of 
Hpirituiil  aid  under  which  multitudes  labour.  God  is  our  witness, 
that  so  far  as  we  had  the  means  we  have  endeavoured  to  supply  the 
wants  of  our  beloved  children.  AVe  have  not  been  sparing  of  our- 
selves, nor  have  our  brethren  in  the  priesthcwd  been  spared.  Of  this, 
you,  brethren,  aro  also  our  witnesses.  But  notwithstanding  thene 
efforts,  the  Catholic  has  been  too  frequently  removed  far  from  the 
voice  of  his  pastor,  far  from  the  altar  of  his  redeeming  Victim,  far 
from  the  broad  of  angels,  far  from  the  other  sacraments  and  institu- 
tions of  religion.  The  emigrant  who  comes  to  our  shores  for  the 
piirpose  of  turning  his  industry  to  more  profitable  account  than  he 
could  do  in  regions  long  and  thickly  inhabited,  has  wandered  through 
our  forests,  our  fields,  our  towns,  and  some  of  our  cities,  in  r.maze- 
lULMit  at  not  being  able  to  find  a  church  in  which  he  could  worship 
according  to  the  rites  of  his  ancestors  ;  he  has  left  our  republic  in 
the  bitterness  of  disappointment,  or  he  has  not  infrequently  become 
iiidifll'rent.  Others  have  with  a  firm  faith  preserved  the  sacred  de- 
[losit,  and  transmitted  it  to  their  children,  looking  forward  with  hope 
to  that  day  when  they  would  be  cheered  by  the  ancient  sounds  of  a 
liturgy  derived  from  the  Apostolic  ages,  and  known  through  all  th« 
nations  of  the  cartli. 


m 


% 


l»n 


'1! 

•  Ill 


880 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


From   the   condition  of  things  in   a  single   diocese,   in 
which,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  the  bishop  had  to  do 
far  more  than  the  hardest  work  of  a  missionary  priest,  the 
reader  may  form   a  notion  of  the  state  of  CathoHcity  in 
many  parts  of  the  United  States,  not  alone  from  the  year 
1820  to  the  year  1834,  when  the  Second  Council  of  Balti- 
more was  held,  but  down  to  a  very  recent  period  indeed 
— wherever,  in  fact,  the  circumstances  were  at  aU  similar. 
I  have  been  favoured  with  a  diary  kept  by  Dr.  England, 
Bishop  of  Charleston,  during  tie  first  three  years  of  his 
episcopate ;  *  and  some  extracts  from  its  pages  will  afford 
the  reader  a  lively  idea,  as  well  of  the  multiplied  work 
whicih  a  Catholic  bishop  in  ihose  days  had  to  go  through, 
as  of  certain  peculiarities  in  the  religious  world  of  America, 
for  which  there  is  no  match  to  bo  found  in  these  countries, 
where  the  hard  line  of  separation  is  rigidly  defined.     Before 
the  Bishop  speaks  for  himself,  it  may  be  well  to  show  what 
manner  of  man  he  was,  and  how  far  he  was  fitted  for  the 
position  to  which  Providence  had  called  him. 

*  This  clicrlshed  memorial  of  her  illustrious  brother  was  entrusted  to  me  by  his 
venerable  sister,  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  North  Presentation  Community 
of  Cork.  For  half  a  century  known  by  the  honoured  title  of  « Mother  Catherine,' 
Mrs.  England  has  been  eminent  for  much  of  that  vigour  of  intellect  and  energy 
of  character  for  which  the  Bishop  of  Charleston  was  remarkable  ;  and  in  zeal  for 
the  glory  of  God— for  religion  and  Christian  education— it  were  difficult  to  decide 
to  which,  the  brother  or  the  sister,  the  priest  or  the  nun,  the  palm  should  be 
Rwarded. 


diocese,   in 
hud  to  do 
r  priest,  tliG 
tholicity  in 
m  the  year 
ill  of  Balti- 
•iod  indeed 
all  similar. 
'.  England, 
3ars  of  his 
will  afford 
plied  work 
;0  through, 
)f  America, 
!  countries, 
d.     Before 
show  what 
ted  for  the 


a  to  me  by  hia 
n  Community 
ler  Catherine,' 
ct  and  energy 
and  in  zeal  for 
[cult  to  decide 
ilm  should  be 


CHAPTER  XXL 


Dr.  England,  Bishop  of  Chark'ston— IMsliop  Enprhvnd's  Diary — 
Bishop   England's  jSlissionury  Labours— Tho  Biahop'a  Trials- 


Bishop  England's  growinj?  Fume. 


ENDOWED  with   singular  energy  of  character,  and  a 
mind  at  once  vigorous  and  comprehensive,  enriched 
with  information  both  varied  and  accurate,  John  England 
combined  the  advantages  of  a  thorough  training  in  all  the 
priestly  duties,  derived  fr'om  an  active  missionary  career, 
first  in  his  native  city,  and  afterwards  in  the  parish  of 
Bandon.     To  the  discharge  of  his  functions  as  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  he  brought  the  zeal  and  piety  gf  an  ardent 
nature,  and  the  promptings  of  a  spirit  entirely  unselfish, 
and  indeed  wholly  self-sacrificing.     Nor  was  he  unaquaint- 
ed  with  1/i.  ose  political  questions  which  agitated  the  public 
mind  of  that  day.     In  Ireland,  whatever  the  disposition  of 
priest  or  prelate,  there  happen  occasions  when  he  is  tempt- 
ed— ^nay  even  compelled — to  quit  the  sacred  precincts  of 
the  sanctuary  for  the  arena  of  pohtical  strife  ;  and  before 
John  England  was  appointed   to  the  parish  of  Bandon, 
even  the  ecclesiastics  who,  by  character  and  disposition, 
were  most  inclined  to  shrink  from  the  angry  contentions 
of  the  outer  world,  felt  themselves  compelled  by  a  sense  of 
conscientious  obligation  to  assert  their  rights  as  citizens. 
This  was   during   the  long    and  wearisome    struggle    for 
Emancipation,    which   was  mainly   carried,  as   the    world 
knows,  by  tho  pluck  and  determination  of  the  Catholics  of 
Ireland,  assisted,  no  doubt,  by  the  generous  and  persistent 


'A 


!! 
I 

'-  I 
'fit  I 


S82 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


aid  of  tlio  Liboral  Protestiints  of  tho   United   Kingdom. 
•  Tho  grand  object  of  tho  Irish  Catholics  of  that  day  wrh 
to    return,  as    their    representatives    to    Parliament,   the 
friends  of  Emancipation ;  and  such  was  tho  power  and  in- 
fluence of  those  who  made  a  desperate  resistance  to  tho 
just  claims  of  their  fellow-countrymen,  that  it  required  tho 
utmost  eff(n*t  and  tho  most  perfect  union  on  the  part  of  tho 
CathoNc  body  to  frustrate  tho  machinations  of  their  wily 
and  relentless  opponents.     Tho  Ilev.  John  England  was  a 
ready,  dashing  writer,  as  bold  in  attack  as  skilful  in  reply ; 
nor  as  a  speaker  was  he  inferior,  either  in  power  or  bril- 
liancy, to  the  most  gifted  orators  of  a  period  when  men  bor- 
rowed tlieir  best  inspiration  from  tho  earnest  convictions 
and  strong  passions  of  tho  moment.     To  him,  in  no  small 
degree,  was  owing  the  courage,  the  cohesion,  and  tho  tri- 
umph of  tho  popular  party  ui  his  native  city ;  and  when  he 
left  that  city  for  the  pfirish  to  which,  at  an  unusually  early 
period  of  life  ho  was  appointed,  and  afterwards  when  he 
quitted  the  shores  of  his  native  land  for  that  great  country 
with  which  his  fame  is  inseparably  associated,  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  best  wishes  of  every  friend  of  freedom,  ex- 
pressed as  well  by  substantial  tokens  as  in  eloquent  words. 
Thus  was  Bishop  England  ospociaUy  prepared  for  the  work 
he  had  to  do  in  Jiis  new  field  of  labour  ;  his  acquaintance 
with  public  aftairs,  and  his  faculty  of  dealing  with  questions 
other  than  those  within  the  immediate  province  of  a  minis- 
ter of  religion,  frequently  obtaining  for  him  the  most  valu- 
able influence  with  people  of  position  and  authority. 
Wo  now  turn  to  the  diary,  which  thus  opens  :— 

On  Monday,  the  10th  of  July,  1820, 1  received  in  Bandon  a  letter  from 
the  Reverend  Henry  Hnghes,  dated  June  17,  1820.  at  Rome,  informing 
me  that  on  the  preceding  Monday  I  had  been  appointed  Bishop  of  Charles- 
ton, In  South  Carolina,  and  requesting  of  me.  for  various  reasons  thereia 
alleged,  to  accept  of  this  appointment. 

September  21st.— I  received  the  grace  of  Episcopal  Consecration  in 
the  Catholic  Church  of  St.  Finbavr's,  in  the  city  of  Cork,  from  the 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Murphy,  Bishop  of  the  Dioccsu,  assisted  by  the  Right 


DR.  ENGLAND,  BISHOP  OF  CIIARf-ESTON. 


883 


ed   Kingdom. 

that  (lay  was 
rliamciit,  tlio 
wwor  and  in- 
stance to  the 

required  the 
le  part  of  tlio 
of  their  wily 
Inland  was  a 
Iful  in  reply ; 
)wer  or  bril- 
len  men  bor- 
t  convictions 

iu  no  small 

and  the  tri- 
md  when  ho 
usually  early 
L'ds  when  he 
reat  country 

lie  was  fol- 
freedom,  ex- 
pent  words, 
for  the  work 
icquaintance 
th  questions 
)  of  a  minis- 
3  most  valu- 
)rity. 


1  a  letter  from 
)me,  informing 
jop  of  Cliiulcs- 
■oasons  tbcreia 

'onsecration  in 

ork,  from   tlio 

by  the  Right 


Uov.  Dr.  Ariiram,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  and  Ki'lly,  first  Bishop  of  Rich- 
mond (Virginia),  whoso  appoinlnuMit  was  Hubscfiiicnt  to  mine,  but 
wliostf  consccralion  took  [)lacn  at  Kilkenny  on  tlio  2-lth  of  August. 
Tiii-rc!  w»'ro  present,  the  Most  Rtsv.  Dr.  Kverard,  Archbishop  of  Myto- 
iciK!,  coadjutor  of  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Bray,  Archbishop  of  Casliel, 
iiiid  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.s.  Coppinger,  of  Cloy  no  and  Ross,  Stighruo 
111'  Ardfert  and  Aghadoo  (Kerry),  and  Tuohy  of  Limerick 

October  11th.— I  having  many  applications  from  priests  and  can- 
didal((s  for  places  on  the  American  mission,  I  appointed  my  brother, 
liie  Rev.  Thomas  R.  England,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  O'Keelle,  my 
Vicars-General,  for  the  purpose  principally  of  selecting  such  of  Ihoso 
as  1  may  afterwards  want,  and  if  necessary  having  them  ordained. 
This  day  waa  tho  anniversary— twelve  years— of  my  ordination  to 
llu!  priesthood.  On  this  day  I  i)arted  from  my  family  to  go  whither  I 
thought  (u)(l  had  called  me,  but  whither  I  had  no  other  desire  to  go. 
Should  this  be  read  by  a  stranger,  let  him  pardon  that  weakness  of 
our  common  nature  which  then  affected  me,  and  does  now  after  the 
lapse  of  three  months. 

December  2(jth.— Found  soundings  in  35  fiitboms  water,  and  on 
the  next  day  saw  the  Hunting  Islands  on  ihe  coast  of  South  Carolina, 
after  a  very  tedious  and  unpleasant  passage.  On  the  evening  of  the 
27th  came  to  anchor  off  Charleston  Bar,  and  on  the  28th  crossed  it, 
and  worked  up  the  channel,  and  came  to  anchor  in  tho  evening. 

December  30th.— Came  on  shore  in  Charleston;  saw  the  Rev. 
Benedict  Fenwick,  S.O.I.,  who  was  Vicar-General  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  who  exhibited  to  mo  his  papers.  I  gave  him  my  Bulla 
and  Certificates,  received  tho  j-esignation  of  his  authority,  and  re- 
newed his  faculties  of  Vicar-General  for  my  diocese,  as  Bishop  of 
Cliarleston,  which  he  accepted. 

December  31st.~Being  Sunday,  I  had  the  happiness  of  celebrating 
Mass,  took  possession  of  the  church,  had  my  Bulls  published,  and 
preached. 

Dr.  England  soon  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
tjondition  of  his  diocese,  which  in  all  respects  was  far  from 
encouraging.  Upon  enquiry  he  found  that  there  was  a 
congregation  in  the  City  of  Savannah  (Georgia),  but  that 
it  had  been  deserted,  and  he  took  into  consideration  the 
necessity  of  having  a  priest  for  that  mission.  He  deter- 
mined to  visit  Savannah  and  Augusta,  and  Warrenton  in 
Georgia,  and  Columbia  in  South  Carolina,  without  delay, 
Appointing  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fenwick  his  Vicar-General,  with 


n 


i 


I 

11 


c 

J      ^ 

,,' 

tBgJI* 

.■^ 

.•a« 

381 


TIIH  lUISII  IN  AMERICA. 


full  powers  initil  liiH  return  to  ClmrleHton,  and  requesting 
liiiii  to  pinclmHe  ^'rouml  for  a  second  teniponiry  church  in 
that  city,  and  if  poHsihlo  i)rocuro  a  good  8it«  for  a  large 
cathedral,  he  went  on  board  the  wloop  *  Delight,'  and  Hailed 
for  Savannah  on  the  15th  of  January,  1821.  He  found 
there  had  been  no  priest  in  that  city  since  the  prcviouH 
October  ;  and  to  repair  the  evil  caused  by  the  want  of  a 
clergyman  for  so  long  a  time,  he  commenced  a  vigorous 
course  of  instruction,  followed  by  the  admhiistration  of  the 
sacramcntH.  The  following  entry  aftbrds  an  idea  of  liis 
energy,  and  of  the  attention  which  ho  already  excited 
amongst  non-Catholics. 

'January  21. — Heard  confessions,  celebrated  the  Holy 
Mass,  and  administered  the  Holy  Coramiuiion  to  27  per- 
sons. Gave  Confirmation  to  15  persons.  At  half-past  ten 
o'clock  I  spoke  on  the  erection  of  the  See,  on  my  own 
authority,  and  publicly  committed  the  flock  of  Savan- 
nah to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Browne  until  I  should 
think  proper  to  remove  him  ;  and  after  Mass  I  preached 
to  a  large  congregation,  amongst  whom  were  the  principal 
lawyers  of  Savannah,  and  many  other  strangers.  In  the 
evening  I  had  vespers,  and  gave  an  exhortation  and  bene- 
diction— Church  crowded  and  surrounded.' 

The  next  entry  records  the  same  round  of  duty,  with  this 
paragraph  added  :  '  Was  asked  by  the  M:iyor  and  others  to 
preach  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  which  I  de- 
clined for  the  present.' 

Appointing  'John  Dillon  to  rend  prayers  for  Mass  on 
Sunday,'  until  the  return  of  the  Rt\  Tf<..  Brow?.o,  whom 
he  took  with  him  on  his  visitat.un,  the  Jiishop  proceeded 
to  Augusta,  which  pl<i,ce  he  reached  after  two  days  of  hard 
travelling.  After  a  brief  but  energetic  work  in  this  city, 
where  he  administered  Confirmation  *  to  John  McCormick, 
Esq.,  and  48  others,'  he  set  out  for  Locust  Grove,  whoso 
vJaiholic  congregation  had  not  had  the  benefit  of  a  pastor 
for  several  v'ears. 


Brsnoi'  ENGLAND'S  DIARY. 


88ft 


I 


ul  reqncating 
iry  church  iu 
»  for  II  lai'f^'o 
t,*  jiiul  Kiiilcd 
Ho  found 
the  previous 
[lo  want  of  a 
[  a  vi{jforous 
ration  of  tho 
idea  of  liis 
3ady  excited 

(d  tho  Holy 
I  to  27  per- 
lidf-past  ten 

on  my  own 
:  of  Savan- 
til  I  should 

I  preached 
ho  principal 
crs.  In  the 
1  and  benc- 

ty,  with  this 
nd  others  to 
which  I  de- 

br  Mass  on 
^w.^o,  vvhom 
p  proceeded 
ays  of  hard 
n  this  city, 
McCormick, 
rove,  whoso 
of  a  pastor 


Arrived  tliore  at  niKlitfall.  und  was  most  kindly 


oniKT    of   wliom 


rccclvcii  by  old  and 


great   merit   in  d 


uo 


coimfry,     This   wan  tli« 


y<MinK   Mrs.   'I'honipson.    to   the   t 

hcforu  (iod.   for   preserving   tho   faith   in  tliirt 

rnst  Catholio  oon^rre.^ratl(.a  in  Ck'orKia;  it  u-«8  funned  in  17!)l  or  1705 

hy  tiie  Hettlement  „     Mrs.   Thonipson'M   family   and   a   few  others  from 

Maryland.      I{iMhop    Carroll,    of    JJallimore,    nent     tho    Rev.    Mr     Lc 

Mercier  to  attond  them.     After  elKhtet-n  months  he  went  to  Savannah, 

iind   Rev.  Mr.  Snjet  then  remained  Heventeen  innntliH.  and  returned  to 

Frane(>.     There  wa.s  no  clergyman  then-   nnlil   Novoml.er    I810,   when 

llie   U.'v.  Itobert  Drowne  came-   to   take  charge    of   Angnsta   and  \i» 

vidnily.    and    remained     nnlil     1815.      This    place    was    occaHlonally 

visit«'d  l.y  Rev.  ^v.  Egan  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cooper. 

Like  all  Catholic  priests,  Bishop  Enf>land  was  particu- 
larly solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  ne«,^roeH.  Tho  policy 
of  the  Church  was  not  to  oppose  an  institution  which  was 
alto^'other  beyond  its  province  or  jurisdiction;  but  its 
ministers  nevertheless  did  what  they  could  to  elevate  tho 
moral  condition  of  the  slave  through  religious  influences, 
and  also  sought  to  improve  their  temporal  condition  by 
•jiducing  their  owners  to  respect  the  sanctity  and  vahdity 
of  the  marriage  tie.*  In  Locust  Grove,  Bishop  England 
found  several  Catholic  negroes,  amongst  whom  were  some 
both  'intelligent  and  well-instnicted.' 

There  he  preached  his  first  open-air  sermon.  'The 
church  being  too  small,  and  several  persons  having  col- 
lected from  various  parts  of  the  neighbourhood,  I  preached 
from  an  elevation  outside  to  about  400  persons.'  At 
Warrenton,  he  says,  'I  met  three  Cherokee  Indians  viz. 
Colonel  Dick,  who  could  speak  a  httle  Enghsh,  John 
Thompson,  and  Sampson,  to  whom  I  gave  their  breakfast. 
I  showed  the  Colonel  my  ring  and  cross,  of  which  he  took 
particular  notice,  and  told  him  I  intended  visiting  his 
nation  ;  he  said  he  would  know  me.' 

At  Columbia  he  finds  a  flock  consisting  'of  about  250 
persons,   principally  Irish  labourers   employed  in  making 

*  For  greater  convonienee,  and  not  to  interfere  witli  the  sketch  which  I  give 
of  the  progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America,  I  prefer  treating  the  subject  of 
its  reiaiiou  to  Siavery  in  a  unto  at  tlie  end  of  the  vohimo. 

17 


ii 

■It 


886 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


the  canal.'  There  was  no  church,  and  the  Bishop  'th(ire- 
fore  preached  in  che  Court-house  that  night  to  a  very 
nun  erous  and  respectable  congregation,'  mostly  Prol 
testants.  He  makes  strenuous  eiforts  to  commence  a 
church:  and  on  his  committee  of  collection  we  see  sncU 
genuine  Irish  names  as  Peter  M'Guire  and  John  He£fer- 
uan. 

Keturning  to  Charleston,  Dr.  England  addressed  himself, 
with  renewed  energy,  to  his  great  labours.  He  now  com- 
menced a  course  of  lectures  which  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  fame  that  ere  long  spread  through  every  State  in  the 
Union,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  the  most  thoughtful 
and  intellectual.  The  first  was  on  the  Existence  of  "fktd  ; 
the  second  on  the  Nature  and  Necessity  of  Eeligion ;  the 
third  on  the  Establishment  of  the  Church  by  Our  Saviour; 
the  fourth  on  the  Marks  of  the  True  Church,  '  exhibited 
in  the  Holy  Koman  CathoHc  Church,  and  in  that  alone.' 
These  discourses,  which  were  continued  during  Lent,  were 
not  without  result ;  for,  under  date  of  AprH,  28,  there  are 
recorded  in  the  diary  the  names  of  several  converts,  iu- 
eluding  that  of  '  a  lav/yer  of  eminence.' 

In  the  last  week  of  Lent  the  Bishop  published  a  cate- 
chism, which,  he  says,  'I  had  much  labour  in  compihng 
from  various  others,  and  adding  several  parts  which  I  coiT- 
sidered  necessary  to  be  exphcitly  dwelt  upon  under  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  my  diocese.' 

The  number  of  communicants  in  Charleston  in  the 
Easter  fortnight  (1821)  was  250. 

'April  26.  Established  the  Book  Society,  and  had  the 
necessnry  measures  taken  to  cstabHsh  a  general  committee, 
and  to  have  the  Society  extended  throughout  my  diocese.' 

The  foUowing  passage,  though  descriptive  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Catholics  of  that  day  in  a  Southern  State,  was 
just  as  applicable  to  most  other  parts  of  the  Union,  save 
where  a  priest  was  regularly  stationed.  Indeed  it  as  accu- 
rately represented  the   condition   of    Cathohcs  in   a  vast 


eston  in  tlie 


BISHOP  ENGLAND'S  MISSIONxUlY  LABOURS, 
number  of  places  in  thirty  years  after  it  was  written. 


was  written  of  Wilmington  :— 


387 


It 


May  lOth.-Celebrated  Mass  at  my  lodging,  and  gave  an  exhorla- 
t.on  to  thoso  who  attended.  After  breakfast  met  the  Catholics,  about 
twenty  men:  not  a  woman  or  child  of  the  Catholic  faith.  No  priest 
had  ever  been  fixed  here,  nor  in  the  neighbourhood.  A  Rev  Mr 
Burke  hud  spent  a  fortnight  here  about  twenty-five  years  before  and 
a  Jesuit  going  to  some  Spanish  settlement  spent  two  or  three  days 
m   the  town  about   the  year   1815,   and   baptised  the  children  of  Mr 

;  but  their  mother  being  a  Methodist,  they  were  not  educat-d  in 

the  faith.  The  Catholics  who  lived  here,  and  they  who  occasionally 
came  hither,  loere  in  the  habit  of  going  to  other  places  of  worsHp- 
Episcopal  Protost ant,  Methodist,  and  Preshyleriav -and  had  nearly  lost 
all  Idea  of  Catholicity.  I  spoke  on  the  necessity  of  their  assembling 
together  on  Sundays  for  prayer  and  instruction,  and  of  their  forming 
a  branch  of  the  Book  ■  Society,  to  both  of  which  they  readily  a-reed" 
and  then  recommended  their  entering  into  a  subscription  to  procure  a 
lot  for  a  church,  and  to  commence  building,  as  I  would  take  care 
they  should  be  occasionally  visited  by  a  priest.  I  also  exhorted  them 
to  prepare  for  the  sacraments. 

I  received  an  invitation  from  the  pastor  and  trustees  of  the  Pres- 
bytenan  Church  to  use  their  building  (the  best  in  the  town),  which 
upon  consideration  I  accepted.  I  was  waited  upon  by  the  Protestant 
minister,  who  offered  me  his  church  also,  which  of  course  I  declined 
as  having  accepted  of  the  other.  In  the  evening  I  preached  io  a 
very  large  congregation,  on  the  nature  of  the  Catholic  religion. 

Here  was  a  fitting  occasion  for  the  zeal  of  the  young 
Bishop  ;  and  we  find  him  daily  exhorting  his  own  Httle 
flock,  and  also  preaching  each  evening  to  large  and  atten- 
tive congregations— '  On  the  nature  of  Redemption,  the 
Mission  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Authority  of  the  Church 
to  explain  the  Scriptures  and  teach  the  doctrines  of  Christ 
by  her  traditions.'  Nor  was  his  labour  without  fruit  as 
he  established  a  branch  of  the  Book  Society,  raised  by 
subscription  1,1G0  dollars  for  a  church,  and  received  some 
converts  of  note. 

^  Among  the  entries  of  May   12th,  there  is  this  record : 
'Baptised  George  Washington,  aged  three  years,  son  of 


I 

• 


I 


588 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Patrick  Murijliy  and  Rebecca  Lear  ;  sponsor,  J.  P.  Cal- 
luirdo.' 

'May  20 Was   requested   by   some   Protestant 

j^'cntlenieu  to  preach  twice  this  evening,  as  I  was  to  leavo 
town  in  the  morning.  I  complied  with  their  request,  and 
preached  at  half-past  three  and  at  seven  o'clock,  to  vcny 
full  congregations.  There  was  created  in  AVihnington  a 
spirit  of  inquiry,  and  the  prejudices  which  were  very 
general  against  Catholics  were  removed.' 

In  a  place  near  South  Washington,  we  are  told  that 
John  Doyle,  an  Irishman,  is  the  only  Catholic.  In  New- 
born we  find  a  state  of  things  exactly  the  reverse  of  that 
described  in  Wilmington.  In  Wilmington  there  were 
twenty  Catholic  men,  and  not  a  single  woman  or  child  of 
the  faith;  but  in  Newbern  there  are  'upwards  of  twenty 
CathoHcs,  principally  females.'  A  priest  had  visited  them 
seven  months  previously.  Here  the  Bishop  baptised  two 
converts,  '  men  of  colour.' 

In  North  Washington  the  CathoHcs  were  '  few  and  gene- 
rally negligent.'  No  priest  since  the  jDrevious  year.  'The 
Methodists  have  a  meeting-house,  the  Baptists  a  temporary 
place,  but  there  is  no  other  house  of  worship.'  The  Bishop 
not  only  preached  in  the  Court-house  in  the  evenings,  but 
said  Mass  in  it  in  the  mornings  ;  and  the  congregations 
increasing,  the  converts,  including  people  of  colour,  coming 
in,  and  favourable  impressions  bqing  made  upon  others, 
who  took  time  to  consider  what  they  should  do,  w^e  are  not 
surprised  to  learn  that  'the  Baptist  and  Methodist  leaders 
were  drawing  off  the  hearers  to  the  best  of  their  power.' 

On  his  arrival  in  Plymouth  he  finds  but  one  Catholic  ; 
but  in  a  day  after  he  discovers  a  second.  Still,  he  is  well 
received,  and  actually  estabhshes  a  Book  Society.  '  Find' 
ing,'  he  says,  'an  anxiety  to  hear  me,  I  consented  to  re- 
main, and  preach  twice  this  day,  to  about  40  persons  at 
eleven  o'clock,  and  to  a  much  larger  congregation  at  five 
o'clock,  at  the  Academy,  which  was  the  only  pubhc  building 


THE  BISHOP'S  TRIALS 


389 


or,  J.  P.  Cal- 

ae   Protestant 

I  was  to  leave 
f  request,  and 
''clock,  to  vei'_y 
iVilmiiigton  a 
cli   were   very 

are  told  that 
)lic.  Ill  New- 
everse  of  that 

II  there  were 
11  or  child  of 
L'ds  of  twenty 

visited  them 
baptised  two 

few  and  gene- 
3  year.     'The 
s  a  temporary 
The  Bishop 
evenings,  but 
congregations 
olour,  coining 
upon   others, 
o,  we  are  not 
hodist  leaders 
eir  power.' 
one  Catholic  ; 
till,  he  is  well 
dety.     '  Find' 
sented  to  re- 
40  persons  at 
nation  at  five 
iiblic  building 


in  the  town.'  For  three  days  he  preached,  both  morning 
and  evening  ;  on  the  third  evening  he  'preached  to  a  very 
crowded  congregation  in  the  Academy,  after  which  the 
Book  Society  met,  and  elected  their  officers.'  It  was  on 
that  evening  that  the  Bishop  discovered  the  second  Cathoho 
in  the  town. 

In  other  places  he  finds  a  few  Catholics,  the   greater 
number    attending    the    Methodist  or  Baptist  places  of 
worship,  there  being  no  Catholic  church,  and  the  visits  of 
a  priest  being  '  few,  and  far  between.'   Whatever  the  nature 
of  the  congregation,  whatever  its  admixture  of  nationahties, 
Irish  are  to  be  found  amongst  them  ;  thus,  next  to  a  high- 
sounding  Spanish  name,  we  alight  upon  a  Daniel  Flynn,  a 
Michael  Dempsey,  or  an  Ignatius  Crowley.'     Deputations 
wait  upon  him   to   request  he  will  preach   in   Protestant 
churches  or  in  Court-houses,  which  he  generally  does,  and 
with  advantage  to  the  cause  of  truth.     But  converts  are 
lukewarm,  and  Catholics  relapse  into  indifferentism  ;  and 
priests  cannot  be  had,  or  are  not  always  rehable,  being 
discouraged  by  the  hardships  of  a  seemingly  unpromising 
mission  ;  and  troubles  and  perplexities  plant  the  Bishop's 
mitre  with   plentiful  thorns;    and  rheumatisms  rack  his 
bones,  and  fevers  break  down  his  strength  ;  and  to  add  to 
his  afflictions,  poverty  oppresses  him.     '  I  was  frequently,' 
says  the  Bishop  of  three  great  States,  'without  a  dollar, 
from  the  wretched  state  of  the  income,  and  the  bad  dispo- 
sition of  the  infidel  portion  who  professed  to  belong  to  the 
flock.'     Still,  in  spite  of  incessant  toil  in  the  mission,  and 
drudgery  in  his  seminary,   and  the  constant  pressure  of 
poverty,  he   continued  to   extend   his   Book  Society,   and 
establish    in    Charleston,    in    1822,    a   weekly   newspaper, 
called  The  United  States  Catholic  lliacellany,  wlii^h,  under 
his  management,  became,  one  of  the  most  potent  means 
of  vindicating  the   faith,   and  refuting  the   calumnies   so 
constantly  circulated  by  its   opponents  ;    in   fact,  it   soot 
gi'ew  to  be  a  power  in  the  country. 


I. 

I 


I* 


390 


TDE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


*  December  28th,  1822.  Columbia.  I  preaclied  in  the 
House  af  Rejireseutatives,  at  the  request  of  the  Legislature.' 

'  April  24th,  1823.  Celebrated  Mass  and  exhorted,  and 
after  dinner  returned  to  Camden,  and  stopped  by  invita- 
tion with  Mr.  Salmond,  a  Presbyterian.' 

'ipril   24.      3fr.  Salmond  was  kind  enouyh  to  find  thu 
Catholics  and  to  bring  them  to  me.     They  consisted  of  the 
following  persons  (French,  Spanish,  and  Irish  names),  to 
whom  I  gave  the  usual  commission.     I  gave  them  some 
books,   and  heard  the   confession   of  one   who  presented 
himself.     At  the  request  of  the  inhabitants  I  preached  in 
the  evening  in  the  new  Presbyterian  Church,  to  a  very 
large  congregation.     I  afterwards  baptised  three  children.' 
With  one  other  extract  we  shall  conclude  a  notice  of 
the  Bishop's  diary,  from  which  sufficient  has  been  given  to 
afford  the  reader  a  true  picture  of  a  mission  throughout 
which  Cathohcs  were  thinly  scattered,  and  in  which  they 
had  to  depend,  in  a  very  great  measure,  upon  their  own 
steadfastness  to  retain  even  a  semblance  of  their  faith.     In 
purely  country  districts— perhaps  not  visited  for  years  by 
a   clergyman— matters   were   necessarily  worse;    notwith- 
standing which  there  were  many,  many  instances  of  Irish 
Catholics  keeping  the  faith  ahve  under  the  most  discour- 
aging circumstances. 

April  29th,  1823.— Fayettevillo.  Heard  confessions,  celebrated 
Muss,  and  exhorted;  had  four  communicants— baptised  a  child.  I 
found  that  the  congregation  had  regularly  prayed  together  on  the 
Sundays  and  holidays,  until  the  sickly  season,  when  they  fell  off.  I 
endeavoured  to  prevail  upon  them  to  resume  the  good  practice. 
Superseded  the  former  commission,  and  issued  a  new  one  to  John 
Kelly,  Dillon  Jordan,  Laurence  Fitzharriss,  Doctor  James  Moffet,  and 
Daniel  Kenny.  Was  invited  to  preach  at  the  State  House.  In  the 
evening  I  a'^ain  saw  the  Catholics,  and  exhorted  them  to  persevi're- 
spoke  to  several  individually.  At  eight  O'clock  I  preached  in  the 
State  House  to  a  very  large  and  attentive  audience. 

As  years  went  on,  so  did  the  fame  of  Bishop  England 
increase,  until  the  time  came  when,  from  one  end  of  the 


BISHOP  ENGLAND'S  GROWING  FAME. 


891 


iclied  in   the 

Legislature.' 

xhorted,  and 

ed  by  invita- 

i  to  find  the 
sisted  of  the 
h  names),  to 
I  them  some 
10  presented 

preached  in 
b,  to  a  very 
3e  children.' 

a  notice  of 
)een  given  to 
.  throughout 

which  they 
n  their  own 
dr  faith.  In 
for  years  by 
B  ;  notwith- 
Lces  of  Irish 
ost  discour- 


Union  to  the  other,  his  name  became  a  household  word 
with  CathoHcs  of  every  nationahty,  who  recognised  in  him 
a  champion  fully  equipped,  and  equal  to  the  good  fight. 
The  feeling  of  his  own  countrymen  towards  him  cannot  bo 
described,  so  intense  was  their  pride  in  his  great  quahties 
—his  power  of  pen  and  tongue,  his  resistless  force  as  a 
controversialist,  his  capacity  for  pubHc  affairs— the  noble- 
ness and  grandeur  of  his  nature,  which  all  men  respected, 
and  which  made  for  him  the  fastest  friends  among  those 
who  were  not  of  his  Church.  There  were  other  great  and 
good  bishops,  who  by  their  saintly  character  and  holy  lives 
commanded  a  respectful  toleration  for  their  faith  ;  but 
Bishop  England  extorted  respect  for  his  religion  by  the 
matchless  power  with  which  he  unfolded  its  principles  to 
those  who  crowded  round  him  wherever  he  went,  and 
refuted  the  calumnies  and  misrepresentations  that  had 
been  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  enemies  of  Catholicity  for 
centuries.  Like  all  Irishmen,  of  that  day  as  of  the  pre- 
sent, Bishop  England  at  once  became  an  American  citizen, 
thoroughly  identified  with  his  adopted  country,  proud  of 
her  greatness,  jealous  of  her  honour,  loving  her  beyond  all 
others,  save  that  old  land  whose  recollection  lay  warm  in 
lus  heart 


H 

I 

•t 


IS,  celebrated 
ed  a  child.  I 
gather  on  the 
ley  fell  off.  I 
food  practice. 
one  to  John 
es  Moffet,  and 
[ouse.  In  tlio 
;o  persevere— 
cached  in  the 


I 

ii 


)p  England 
end  of  the 


892 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHArTER  xvin. 


Bishop  England's  Diocese— '  Music  hath  Charms '-Preach- 
ing by  the  Wayside-William  George  Read-' Mister  Paul '- 
Taking  a  Fresh  Start-Father  O'Neill's  Two  Hundred  Child- 
reu. 

BISHOP  England's  diocese,  as  we  have  seen,  was  suffi- 
ciently extensive  to   satisfy  the  most  insatiate   thirst 
for  wide-spread  jurisdiction.      It  extended  from  Charleston 
to  Elizabeth  city,  North  Carolina,  a  distance  of  450  miles, 
and  from  Charleston  to  within  80  miles  of  Mobile— about 
800  miles  in  the  two  directions.      It  was  from  250  to  300 
miles  broad.      Still,  extensive  as  this  vast  territory  was,  it 
was  not  too  much  so  for  the  energy  of  this  extraordinary 
man,  and  the  ardour  of  his  priestly  zeal.      He  would  get 
through  his  missionary  labours  in  this  manner  :  possessing 
a  little  carriage,  indifferently  described  as  a  'sulky,'  'buggy,' 
or  'waggon,'  the  Bishop   endeavoured,  perhaps  with" the 
aid  of  one  of  his  few  monied  fi-iends,  to  purchase  a  pair  of 
serviceable  horses,  or  strong  ponies,  and,  accompanied  by  a 
negro  boy  as  driver,  he  would  travel  from  place  to  place, 
preaching,  instructing,  and  administering  the  sacraments ; 
and  on  his  return,  it  might  be  in  three  months,  six  months,' 
or  even  nine  months,  he  would  readily  and  even  profitably 
dispose  of  his  cattle,  then  more  valuable  than  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  journey,  owing  to  the  training  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected. 

Many  a  strange  incident,  and  even  startHng  adventure, 
occurred  to  the  Bishop  during  his  long  and  arduous  jour- 
neyings,  at  a  time  when  the  roads  were  Httle   bett(3r  or 


*  MUSIC  IIATII  CHARMS.' 


393 


' — Preach- 
r  Paul  '— 
red  Child- 


Q,  was  suffi- 
itiate  tliirst 
L  Cliarleston 
f  450  miles, 
'bile — about 

250  to  300 
itory  was,  it 
traordinary 

would  get 

possessing 
y/  'buggy,' 
>s  with  the 
se  a  pair  of 
Danied  by  a 
e  to  place, 
acraments ; 
six  months, 

profitably 
/t  the  com- 
g  to  which 

adventure, 

luous  jour- 

bett(3r  or 


wc  rse  than  trades,  the  population  was  thinly  scattered,  and 
accommodation,  even  of  the  rudest  kind,  'was  not  always 
to  be  had.     Frequently,  the  shelter  of  the  forest  was  all 
that   could   be   obtained  in   those   days   for  the  traveller. 
Once  in  a  city  or  town,  he  was  sure  of  being  well  received  ; 
for   whHe   prejudice   kept   some   aloof   from    the    'Popish 
Bishop/  curiosity,  and  the  irrepressible  desire  of  Americans 
to  hsten  to  sermons,  discourses,  'lectures'  of  any  descrip- 
tion, impelled  numbers  to  hear  a  man  who  was  famous  for 
his  eloquence.    Halls,  court-houses,  concert-rooms,  churches 
and  chapels,  would  be  freely  placed  at  his  disposal ;   and 
the   probability  is,  that  he   rarely   suffered  from   lack   of 
hospitahty   under   those   circumstances.      But   there   were 
occasions  when   the   Bishop  found   it   difficult   enough  to 
make  out  a  dinner,  or  secure  the  shelter  of  a  roof  against 
the  night.     Even  in  the  Southern  States,  which  are  pro- 
verbial for  the  unaffected  hospitahty  of  their  people,  churls 
were  to  be  met  with,  at  least  in  Dr.  England's  time. 

One  evening  the  Bishop,  who  was  on  this  occasion 
accompanied  by  one  of  his  few  priests— Father  O'Neill ;  it 
need  scarcely  be  added,  a  countryman  of  his  own— drew 
up  at  a  house  of  rather  moderate  dimensions,  whose  master 
was  a  marked  specimen  of  the  species  Surly.  Negotiations 
were  entered  into  for  a  dinner,  which  the  liberal  host  was 
wilhng  to  give  on  certain  conditions,  somewhat  exorbitant 
in  their  nature;  but  there  was  to  be  no  further  accom- 
modation. 'You  cannot  stop  the  night,  nohow,'  said  the 
agreeable  owner  of  the  mansion ;  and  his  look  of  dogged 
dislike  was  quite  as  emphatic  as  his  words.  After  dinner, 
Dr.  England  sat  on  a  chair  in  the  piazza,  and  read  his 
'office;'  while  Father  O'Neill,  having  no  desire  to  enjoy 
the  company  of  his  unwilling  entertainer,  sauntered  to- 
wards the  carriage,  a  little  distance  off,  where  the  boy 
was  feeding  the  horres  ;  and  taking  his  flute  from  his 
portmanteau,  he  sat  on  a  log,  and  commenced  his  favourite 
air,  '  The  last  Rose  of  Summer,'  into  which  he  seemed  to 


'•If 


,1 

m 

m 


994 


TUB  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


t  * 


ij*i 


breathe  the  very  soul  of  tenderness.  From  one  exquisite 
melody  to  another  the  player  Avandered,  while  the  negro 
boy  grinned  with  delight,  and  the  horses  enjoyed  their 
food  with  a  keener  relish.     That 

Music  hath  cha.'ms  to  soothe  the  savage  breast, 

was  here  exemi)lified,  As  the  sweet  notes  stole  on  the 
soft  night  air  of  the  Scuth,  and  reached  the  inhospitable 
mansion,  a  head  was  eagerly  thrust  forth,  and  the  project- 
ing ears  thereof  appeared  eagerly  to  drinlc  in  the  flood 
of  melody.  Another  lovely  air,  one  of  those  which  bring 
involuntary  tears  to  the  eyes,  and  fill  the  heart  with 
bahn,  was  played  with  lingering  sweetness,  when  a  voice, 
husky  with  emotion,  was  heard  uttering  these  words — 
'  Strangers !  don't  go ! — do  stay  all  night ! — don't  go  ;  we'll 
fix  you  somehow.'  It  was  the  voice  of  the  charmed  host ! 
That  evening  the  two  guests  enjoyed  the  snuggest  seats  at 
the  hearth,  Father  O'Neill  playing  for  the  family  till  a  late 
hour.  Next  morning  the  master  of  the  house  would  not 
accept  of  the  least  compensation.  '  No,  no.  Bishop  !  no,  no, 
Mr.  O'Neill!  not  a  cent!  You're  heartily  welcome  to  it. 
Come  as  often  as  you  please,  and  stay  as  long  as  you 
can.  We'll  be  always  glad  to  see  you ;  but/  specially 
addressing  Father  O'Neill,  'be  sure  and  don't  forget  the 
flute!' 

There  were  occasions  when  not  even  Orpheus  liimseh 
could  have  made  out  a  dinner  or  a  bed,  had  he  been,  like 
Bishop  England,  on  the  mission  in  the  Southern  States. 
Orpheus  would  have  had  to  sleep  where  he  could,  and 
carry  his  dinner  with  him,  as  the  Bishop  very  often  did. 
The  Bishop  was  not  unfrequently  obliged  to  be  his  own 
groom  and  servant,  to  look  after  the  comfort  of  his  horse, 
and  see  to  the  cooking  of  his  simple  meal.  Tying-  the 
horse  to  a  stake  or  a  tree,  he  would  brush  him  down  and 
supply  him  with  corn,  and  then  commence  preparations 
for  his  own  refreshment.     One   night  in   the   woods,  tlie 


PREACHING  BY  THE  WAYSIDE. 


395 


lie  exquisite 
)  the  Dogro 
ijoyed  their 

t, 

tole  on  tlio 
inhospitable 
the  project- 
ti  the  flood 
diich  bring 
heart  with 
len  a  voice, 
se  words — 
't  go  ;  we'll 
rmed  host! 
[est  seats  at 
y  till  a  late 

would  not 
op !  nro,  no, 
3ome  to  it. 
)ng  as  you 
/    specially 

forget  the 

3U3  himseh 
3  been,  like 
ern  States, 
could,  and 

often  did. 
be  his  own 
'  his  horse, 

Tying  tlio 
I  down  and 
re23arations 
woods,  the 


\ 


Bishop  and  Father  O'Neill  had  taken  their  frugal  supper, 
lead  their  ' ofilce,'  and  lain  down  by  the  fire  to  sleep ;  but 
tliey  had  not  been  long  nsleep  when  they  awoke  in  fright : 
a  few  moments  more,  and  the  forest  would  have  b(!en  on 
tire,  and  perhaps  the  two  missionaries  *  roasted  like  chest- 
nuts,' as  Father  O'Neill  afterwards  said.  The  parasite  ivy 
had  caught  the  flame,  and  it  was  rapidly  encircling  a 
gigantic  tree  in  an  embrace  of  fire.  By  the  most  extraor- 
dinary exertions,  such  as  fear  could  alone  inspire,  the  ivy 
was  torn  down,  the  fire  extinguished,  the  forest  saved,  and 
the  great  missionary  longer  preserved  to  the  American 
Church. 

The  desire  to  hear  the  Bishop  was  not  confined  to  any 
particular  class  ;  it  was  common  to  all.  A  somewhat  curi- 
ous instance,  illustrative  of  his  popularity  as  a  preacher, 
occurred  during  one  of  his  journeys.  Arriving  at  a  kind 
of  wayside  inn,  or  what  may  be  described  as  a  carman's 
stage,  the  Bishop  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
convoy  of  cotton— waggons  drawn  by  horses  and  mules, 
with  a  number  of  drivers  and  attendants,  white  men  and 
negroes.  His  horses  had  been  fed,  and  he  was  about  to 
resume  his  journey,  when  a  grave  elderly  man,  who 
seemed  to  be  in  command,  approached  him  with  every 
mark  of  respect,  saying—'  Stranger,  are  you  Bishop  Eng- 
land?' On  being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  con- 
tiruec:— '  Mr.  Bishop,  we've  heerd  tell  of  you  much.  The 
folks  say  you  are  the  most  all-fired  powerful  preacher  in 
this  country.  I  had  to  leave  Washington  before  you  got 
there,  and  I  can't  got  to  Milledgeville  till  you're  gone. 
Would  you,  Mr.  Bishop,  mind  giving  us  a  bit  of  a  sermon 
right  here?  It'll  obleege  me  and  my  friends  much— do, 
Mr.  Bishop.'  'Do,  Mr.  Bishop!'  was  taken  up,  in  full 
chorus,  by  the  rest.  The  appeal  so  urged  was  irresistible 
with  the  zealous  missionary,  who  yielded  a  ready  assent. 
On  the  stump  of  a  tree,  which  had  been  cut  dowr  to 
wicicn   the  road,  the  Bishop  took  his  stand,  the  branches 


i) 
M 

11 


396 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


^.i^- 


of  a  IinrvG  cedar  fliiif^niif.  thrir  grateful  Rliadow   over  the 
proachor   and    the   rovoront   group   that   chintored   round 
liim  lu  mute  expectation.     It  was  a  scene  for  a  pfiinter-, 
tlie  great  overhanging  forest,  tlie  rude  weather-stained  lo<v 
liouse,  the  open  clearing  lit  up  by  a  glowing  sun,  the  huge 
waggons  with  their  horses  and  mules,  the  bronzed  weather- 
beaten   countenances  of  the    whites,  the    great    eyes  and 
gleannng  teeth  of  negroes  of  every  hue  and  tint.     But  the 
principal  figure  was  not  unworthy  of    its  prominence-a 
man  m  the  prime  of  life,  of  powerful  well-knit  frame    his 
ower  hmbs  clad  in  breeches  and  silk  stockings,   ihvl  ex^ 
hibited  a  leg  of  model  symmetry-a  face  strong,  massive, 
dark,  lull  of  power  and  passion-an  eye  that  looked  as  if 
It  would  search  the  very  soul :    this  was  Bishop  England 
as  he  stood  upon  that  tree  stumj)  by  the  wayside.     Soon 
wore  his  willing  audience  bound  by  the  spell  of  his  elo- 
quence, as  he  unfolded  before  them  the  gi-and  truths  of 
rehgion,   and  explained  to  them  their  duties  to  God  and 
their  fellow-men.     He   had   been    about    twenty   minutes 
addressmg  them,  when  the  leac^or  stepped  forward,   and 
raising  his  hand,   said-'  That  will  do,   Mr.  Bishop,   that 
will  do;    we're  much  obleeged   to  you,  Mr.  Bishop;   it's 
all  just   as  the  folks   say— you   are   an   all-fire^i  powerful 
preacher.     We'd  like  to  hear  you  always,  but  we  musn't 
stop  you  now.     Thank  you,  Mr.  Bishop,  thank  you.  Mr 
Bishop.'     '  Thank  you,  Mr.  Bishop,'  cried  the  rest  in  chorus. 
And  amidst  a   cheer  that   would  have   tried  the    nerves 
of   horses  less   trained   than  his,   the  Bishop   started  on 
his  journey. 

A  brief  memoir,  or  biographical  sketch,  is  given  in  the 
first  volume  of  '  The  Works  of  the  Right  Rev.  John  Eng- 
land, First  Bishop  of  Charleston,'  pubHshed  by  Murphy 
and  Co.,  of  Baltimore.  The  memoir,  too  brief  for  thu 
illustrious  subject,  is  evidently  written  by  one  who  loved 
the  man,  revered  the  prelate,  and  thoroughly  apprecifited 
his   power   of  intellect,   his  energy  of  character,  and   liis 


WILLIAM  GEORGE  READ. 


887 


w  over  the 
Bred  roiiiul 
a  loiiinter — 
■stained  W 
n,  the  Im^^o 
ud  weatlier- 
t  eyes  and 
fc.  But  the 
miuence — a 

frame,  his 
:s,  thiit  ex- 
ig,  niasfiive, 
3oked  as  if 
p  England, 
iide.  Soon 
of  his  olo- 

truths  of 
5  God  and 
y  minutes 
ward,  and 
shop,  that 
ishop;  it's 
I  powerful 
we  musn't 
f  you.  Mr. 
'>  in  chorus, 
he  nerves 
started  on 

ven  in  the 
rohn  Eng- 
y  Murphy 
3f  for  tho 
who  loved 
pprecifitcd 
\  and   Ills 


boundless  zeal.  To  an  apparently  trivial  incident  was  that 
tribute  eventually  due.  How  tho  Bishop  became  Icuowu 
to  his  future  biographer  haj)pened  in  this  way  : 

A  lady  of  ranjc  and  refinement  came  to  Baltimore  with 
[\if^  view  of  consulting  a  dentist  of  repute  ;  whom  she 
accordingly  visited  shortly  after  her  arrival  in  that  city. 
The  case,  though  important  to  tho  lady,  was  not  of  that 
acute  nature  which  required  immediate  attention ;  and  the 
dentist  havin;,'  satisfied  himself  on  this  point,  asked  his 
visitor  to  excuse  him  that  day,  as  ho  had  made  an  engage- 
ment which  he  was  very  anxious  to  keep.  'In  fact, 
madam,  Bishop  England,  the  most  celebrated  preacher  in 
our  country,  is  now  in  this  city,  and  I  had  determined  to 
hear  him.'  'By  all  means,  sir,'  replied  the  lady,  'do  carry 
out  your  intention— I  can  call  as  conveniently  to-morrow.' 
The  lady  withdrew :  but  not  well  knowing  how  to  dispose 
of  her  time,  which  hung  rather  heavily  on  her  hands,  she 
thought  she  could  not  do  better,  in  order  to  occupy  an 
hour  or  so,  than  go  and  hear  the  famous  preacher.  She 
went ;  and  so  strong  ^vas  the  impression  produced  on  her 
mind  by  the  Bishop,  then  in  the  full  vigour  of  his  in- 
tellect, that  she  became  half  a  Catholic  on  the  spot.  On 
her  return  she  confided  to  her  brother — a  man  of  consider- 
able eminence  as  a  scholar,  and  a  gentleman  of  the  highest 
personal  character — the  change  wrought  in  her -opinions 
respecting  the  Catholic  Church.  The  brother  received  the 
startling  intelligence  with  feehngs  of  alarm  and  indigna- 
tion. But  how  check  the  evil  ? — how  draw  her  back  from 
the  fatal  goal  to  which,  with  all  the  ardour  and  impulsive- 
ness of  a  woman,  she  was  so  rapidly  hurrying  ?  He  should 
himself  undertake  the  fraternal  duty  of  solving  her  doubts, 
and  confuting  her  new-born  errors  ;  and  the  more  surely 
to  convince  her  of  her  folly,  he  commenced  an  earnest 
course  of  reading  and  enquiry — and  in  order  to  foil  the 
Bishop  with  his  own  weapons,  he  resolved  to  hear  hiin 
preach.     He  did  go;    and  bueh  was  tho  power  of    the 


If 


I 

111 

i 

lit 


198 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMKRICA. 


PWMI',.       % 

^^?          M 

►• 


preacher,  and  tho  honest  candour  of  the  listener,  that  tho 
alarmed  and  indionant  biothrr  was  actually  rcceiv(3d  into 
tho  (Jhurch  b(.fi,io  the  Kister,  who  was  only  on  tho  road  to  it ! 
And  from  tho  date  of  his  conversion  the  Catholic  Church 
in  A/nerica  had  not  a  bolder  or  abler  champion  than 
y>  liham  George  lUtid,  the  author  of  tho  'Memoir  of  Bishoi, 
Kn^-land.'  ^ 

The  clenchin-  force  of  the  Bishop's  manner  of  reasoning 
may  be  lU.istrated  by  tho  followin-  reply  ^nvon  by  an  Irisir. 
man,  who  was  one  of  tho  warmest  admirers  of  his  distin- 
guished countryman  : — 

'Well,  Pat,'  said  a  lady  to  tho  Irishman,  'what  do  you 
think  of  your  Bishop?' 

'Think  of  him,  ma'am!  faith,  ma'am,  I  think  a  deal  of 
Jinn,  and  why  not  ?  Isn't  he  grand,  ma'am,  when  ho 
crosses  his  two  arms  on  his  breast,  and  looks  round  at  them 
all,  afttn-  one  of  his  regular  smashers,  as  nmcli  as  to  say- 
"  Answer  mo  that,  and  be  d d  to  you  ! '" 

'Oh  Pat  I'  remonstrated  tho  lady,  who,  whatever  she 
thought  of  the  criticism,  was  somewhat  startled  at  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  expressed. 

To   break   a  lance    with   the   'Popish  Bishop'  was  an 
object  of  no  small  ambition  to  the  controversialists  of  his 
day;  and  many  a  flcdghng  repented  his  rash  attempt  to 
provoke  him  to  an  encounter.     Animated  by  the  determina- 
tion to  crush  the  great  champion  of  Rome,  a  young  preacher 
was  unlucky  enough  to  fasten  on  the  Bishop  with  tho  per- 
tinacity of  a  gad-fly.     The  Bishop  happened  to  be  traveUing 
m  the  same  stage  with  the  preacher,  and  was  engaged  in 
an  earnest  conversation  with  some  of  his  follow-passengers, 
themselves  men  of  mark  and  position,  on  a  matter  whi<;]i' 
then  excited  considerable  public  attention.     To  tho  preacher 
the   subject   of    conversation   had  no    attraction    at    that 
nio]iient;  ho  was  only  thinking  of  the  splendid  opportunity 
which  the  occasion  afforded  of  striking  a  blow  that  would 
bo  heard  of  throunrhout  America,  and  possibly  be  felt  in 


'MISTER  PAUL.' 


S90 


ler.  that  tlio 
)ceiv{3(l  ill  to 

0  road  to  it ! 
jli(r  Church 
npioii  thiiu 
ir  of  Bishop 

f  rciiHoiiinnf 

)y  an  Irish- 

his  distiu- 

liat  do  you 

;  a  doal  of 
,  when  lie 
nd  at  thoni 
as  to  say — 

atever  sho 
:lod  at  tho 

1 '  was  an 
lists  of  ]iis 
ittem2)t  to 
:letormiiia- 
^  preacher 
h  the  per- 
» travelliiij>' 
ingaged  in 
assengors, 
:ter  which 
D  preacher 

1  at  that 
)portunity 
liat  wouki 

ha    ifAi.    in 


tho  halls  of  tho  Vatican.  First,  ho  ventured  a  question, 
(hen  a  sneer,  then  a  challenge,  but  without  ellect  :  tho 
Uishop  altogether  disregarded  his  would-be  antagonist,  and 
merely  wuwd  him  off  with  a  careless  gesture  or  a  careless 
phras(;.  The  si)iritual  Quixote  would  not  bo  put  down, 
and  would  not  be  waved  off ;  he  was  resolved  on  piercing 
tho  armour  of  his  scornful  foe,  and  humbling  his  prido 
in  tho  presence  of  chosen  spectators  of  his  controver.sial 
prowess  ;  and  so  he  persevered,  interrupting  tho  conversa- 
tion, to  tho  annoyance  of  tho  other  passengers,  who  pre- 
ferred tho  discussi(ni  of  a  tojnc  in  which  they  had  a 
personal  and  immediate  interest,  to  a  bootless  polemical 
disputation.  The  valiant  preacher  was  not  to  be  extin- 
guished by  the  cunning  evasions  or  cowardly  subterfuges 
of  the  faint-hearted  Itomanist ;  so  he  came  again  and  a'-'aiu 
to  tho  charge,  flinging  St.  Paul  at  tho  Bishop  with  tho 
most  destructive  intention.  It  was  nothing  but  'Paul' 
iiere,  and  'Paul'  there,  and  how  could  the  champion  of 
the  'Scarlet  AVoman '  get  over  Paul? — and  what  answer 
could  '  Antichrist '  make  to  Paul  ?  Tho  nuisance  becoming 
intolerable,  the  Bishop  determined  to  put  an  end  to  it 
effectually.  Confronting  the  preacher,  and  directing  upon 
him  the  blaze  of  his  great  eyes,  Avhich  gleamed  with  irre- 
pressible fun,  he  placed  his  hands  with  solemn  gesture  on 
his  knees,  and  in  .i  deep  voice  gave  utterance  to  this 
strange  rebuke  : — '  Young  man,  young  man !  if  you  have 
not  faith  and  piety  sufficient  to  induce  you  to  call  the 
Apostle  "  Saint  Paul,"  at  least  have  the  good  manners  to 
call  him  "  Mister  Paul,"  and  do  not  be  perpetually  calling 
him  "  Paul,"  "  Paul,"  as  if  you  considered  him  no  better 
than  a  nigger.'  The  words,  assisted  by  the  comical  gravity 
with  which  they  were  uttered,  and  enforced  by  the  roar  of 
laughter  with  which  they  were  received  by  the  delighted 
passengers,  who  had  so  long  suffered  from  the  infliction  of 
liis  misdirected  zeal,  extinguished  the  poor  preacher,  who 
rapidly  hid  himself  in  the  town  at  which  the  stace  had 


400 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


jiisf  arrived.  Nor  Avas  this  the  end  of  the  disastrous  en^ 
coiiiiter-for  the  story  having  soon  got  abroad,  the  imhicky 
man  was  interrupted  by  some  irreverent  wag,  with  '  MUer 
1^-Mn^er  Paul,'  while  addressing  the  eongregation 
Avhoni  he  had  eome  to  enlighten  and  inspire  ;  and  lie  had 
to  leave  the  plaee  in  consequeneo  of  the  absurdity  of  the 
a  11  air. 

One   of    Bishop   England's  most  zealous   and    efficient 
e  ergymen  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Neill,  through  the  influence 
of  whose  melodious  flute  he  obtained,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
tree  dinner  and  a  good  bed  from  one  of  the  rustiest  cur- 
mudgeons in  South  Carolina.     Father  O'NeiU  was  an  Irish 
priest  of  the  finest  type,  genial,  cheery,  and  hght-hearted 
but  earnest,  and  even  stern,  when  the  occasion  required' 
Arrived  at  a  patriarchal  age,  and  honoured  and  respected 
by  all  classes  of  the  community,  he  is  still  on  the  mission 
in  the  city  of  Savannah. 

Father  O'Neill  could   preach  quite  as  well  as  he  could 
play,  nor  was  his  tongue  a  less  persuasive  instrument  than 
his    flu  e.     Indeed,   it    may  be    doubted  if,   in    his  most 
inspired  moment,  he  could   perform  as  successfully  with 
the  former  as  with  the  latter,  and  for  the  same  length  of 
time  hold  his  audience  spell-bound  with  the  one  as  with 
the  other.     For  Father  O'Neill  had  marvcUous  powers  of 
endurance  as  a  preacher,  or  lecturer  ;    and   his   audience 
were  so  'kept  aUve  '  by  his  manner,  in  which  argument, 
lUustra  ion     wit,    and    dehcate    humour    were    agreeably 
blended,    that  they   did    not    perceive   the   time  passing, 
and  were  rather  sorry  than  otherwise  when  '  the  Father' 
gave  m. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  preaching  somewhere  in  Georgia, 
cuid  the  country  round  had  assembled  to  hear  him.  At 
the  end  o  twx)  hours  and  a  half,  during  which  there  was 
not  the  slightest  symptom  of  weariness  exhibited  by  a 
densely  crowded  audience,  he  said  that  the  expiring  cob- 
dition  of  the  candles  warned  him  to  bring  his  remarksto 


TAKING  A  FllKSU  START 


401 


isasti'ous  on- 
,  tho  unlucky 

with  'Mhter 
eoiigrcg-atiou 

and  lie  hud 
n-dity  of  the 

-nd  efficient 
he  injfluence 
have  seen,  a 
fustiest  cur- 
ms  an  Irish 
ght-hearted, 
on  required, 
d  respected 
the  mission 

IS  he  could 

ument  than 

1    his  most 

3sfully  with 

B  length  of 

•ne  as  with 

powers  of 

s   audience 

argument, 

agreeably 

le  passing, 

he  Father' 

in  Georgia, 
'  him.  At 
there  was 
)ited  by  a 
)irin£r  con- 
■emarks  to 


a  close.     Quick  as  thought,  an  Irishwoman,  who  occupied  a 
conspicuous  position  among  tho  audience,  and  who  would 


willingly  have    sat    there   till 


mornmg. 


cried  out,    'Never 


mind  that,  your  reverence  ;  sure  we  brought  half-a-box  of 
candles  along  with  us,  as  we  thouglit  you'd  need  them.' 
The  wise  consideratencss  of  the  Irishwoman  was  hailed 
with  general  satisfaction,  and  with  brighter  auspices  the 
])roacher  resumed  his  discourse. 

There  was  one  occasion,  however,  when  Father  O'Neill 
surpassed  all  his  former  achievements.  It  was  on  the  re- 
ception of  a  Mrs.  Taylor  into  the  Catholic  Church. 

Mrs.  Taylor  was  a  lady  of  good  social  position,  whose 
conversion    to    Catholicism    excited  much    interest  amonir 


her    friends    and 


neighbours. 


Her 


reception  into  the 
church  was  to  be  made  an  occasion  of  some  solemnity, 
and  invitations  wore  sent  to  the  gentry  for  miles  round, 
requesting  their '  attendance  at  the  ceremony,  which  was  to 
be  followed  by  a  banquet  of  more  than  usual  elegance  and 
profusion.  The  auspicious  morning  arrived.  In  the  grand 
saloon,  where  an  altar  had  been  erected,  were  assembled 
sixty  or  seventy  people,  and  crowding  in  front  of  the  win- 
dows of  the  apartment  were  groups  of  negroes,  to  whom  the 
day  was  to  be  one  of  welcome  rest  and  rejoicing.  At  the 
termination  of  the  Mass,  Mrs.  Taylor  was  to  be  received. 
Punctual  to  the  appointed  hour — eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing— Father  O'Neill  commenced.  Wearing  his  soutane,  or 
cassock,  he  made  his  ajipearance  at  the  temporary  altar, 
on  which  the  various  robes  and  vestments  worn  by  a 
priest  in  the  celebration  of  Mass  were  placed.  Referring 
to  the  purpose  of  the  day's  ceremony,  he  stated  the  leading 
reasons  why  a  Protestant  should  become  a  Catholic.  He 
thcui  specially  explained  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass,  dealing 
with  it  as  a  sacrament  and  a  sacrifice ;  and  having  justified 
tbe  use  of  the  Latin  language  in  its  celebration,  he  said  he 
would  represent  the  symboHcal  meaning  of  each  vestment 
as  he  put  it  on  ;  which  he  did  in  a  popular  and  persuasive 


402 


THE  IIIISII  IN  AMERICA. 


'  I.  .    -! 


raft, 


manner  that  excited  the  interest  and  rivettod  the  attention 
of  liis  audience.     Having  concluded  his  series  of  discourses, 
and  being  then  fully  robed,  he  turned  to  the  altar  to  com- 
mence ;  but  seeing  that  one  of  the  candles  had  been  entirely 
consumed,  and  that  the  other  was  flickering  in  its  socket, 
he  glanced  at  his  watch,  and  found  that  the  hour  was  within 
a  quarter  to  two  o'clock !  Zealous  patriot !  patient  audience ! 
Father  O'Neill  took  the  matter  coolly,  saying,    'My  friends, 
I  have  committed  an  oversight.     According  to  the  ordinary 
laws  of  the  Church,  Mass  should  commence  before  twelve 
o'clock.     In  a  missionary  country,  like  ours,  we  have  the 
privilege  of   commencing   an    hour  later — any  time  up  fo 
one.     But  now  it  is  approaching   two,  and  I  cannot  pro- 
ceed with  the  service.     I  am  sorry  for   your  dissappoint- 
ment  this  morning ;    but  if    you   will    come    to-morrow 
morning  at  eight  o'clock,  we  will  take  a  fresh  start.'    The 
audience  bore  the  disajDpointment  with  perfect  equanimity, 
and  were  determined  to  see  the  ceremony  to  the  end  ;  so 
they  enjoyed   the    hospitahty  of   Mrs.  Taylor  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day,  and  next  morning  again  assembled  in 
the  saloon   at  the   appointed   hour,  when  Father  O'Neill 
took  his  fresh  start  ;  this  time  with  such  energy,  that  the 
whole  was  well  finished  by  twelve  o'clock. 

But  Father  O'Neill  could  be  quite  as  effective  in  a  short 
speech  as  in  a  lengthened  discourse  ;  and  on  an  occasion 
of  much  interest,  and  in  a  time  of  no  small  anti-foreign 
and  anti-Catholic  excitement,  he  delivered  a  few  pithv 
sentences  which  produced  a  most  salutary  effect.  It  was 
at  a  public  dinner  in  Savannah,  to  celebrate  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  monument  erected  to  Pulaski,  one  of  the  heroes 
of  the  Revolution  of  1776,  who,  wounded  at  the  Battle  of 
Savannah,  had  died  a  few  days  after.  There  had  been  a 
procession  and  an  oration  in  the  day,  and  a  gi'and  dinner 
was  to  be  the  agreeable  wind-up  of  an  event  so  dear  to  the 
patriotic  heart.  There  could  be  no  pubhc  dinner  in 
Savannah  that  did  not  include  the  popular  Irish  priest  as 


FATHER  O'NEILL'S  TWO  HUNDRED  CHH.DREN. 


m 


e  attention 
discourses, 
tar  to  corn- 
sen  entirely 
its  socket, 
was  within 
t  audience ! 
Ay  friends, 
e  ordinary 
ore  twelve 
!  have  the 
inie  up  fo 
mnot  pro- 
ssapj)oint- 
to-morrow 
art.'    The 
;iuanimity, 
e  end  ;  so 
>r  the  re- 
embled  in 
er  O'NeiU 
Y,  that  the 

n  a  short 
I  occasion 
iti-foreign 
few  pithy 
>.  It  was 
inaugura- 
lie  heroes 

Battle  of 
id  been  a 
id  dinner 
ear  to  the 
iinner  in 

priest  as 


one  of  the  guests,  and,  as  a  matter  of  invariable  routine, 
Father  O'Neill  should  have  a  toast  or  a  sentiment  to 
propose.  It  was  in  the  time  when  the  wretched  '  Know- 
Nothing'  excitement  was  rife  in  most  parts  of  America, 
and  the  furious  cry  of  'Down  with  the  foreigner!  down 
with  the  Papist ! '  found  an  echo  in  the  South. 

'I  have  listened,' said  Father  O'Neill,  'to  the  oration  of 
the  day.  It  was  excellent,  so  far  as  it  went.  But  it 
omitted  one  most  essential  point— about  Pulaski  himself. 
I  will  supply  the  deficiency.  Pulaski  was  a  foreigner,  who 
had  the  extraordinary  habit  of  saying  his  beads  eveiy 
day.  He,  a  foreigner  and  a  Catholic,  shed  his  blood  and 
sacrificed  his  life  for  this  country.  And  I  am  sure  that 
tlK  monument  erected  by  the  grandsons  of  the  heroic  men 
who  fought  and  bled  side  by  side  with  Pulaski,  is  a  proof 
that  they  still  adhere  to  the  glorious  principles  of  their 
fathers,  who  welcomed  all  brave  men — whatever  their  race 
or  religion — to  their  country.' 

The  effect  was  electrical.  The  majority  of  the  excited 
audience  exclaimed  'Bravo!'  and  cheered  with  ardour; 
while  the  few  hung  their  heads  with  shame,  crushed  by 
the  imphed  rebuke,  and  the  courage  which  inspired  its 
utterance. 

Father  O'Neill  lost  and  won  the  good  graces  of  a  Protes- 
tant lady  by  an  admission  of  paternity,  which,  well 
understood  in  a  Catholic  country,  was  rather  startling  in 
the  America  of  that  day.  He  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Byrne, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Arkansas,  were  travelling  fi-om  Fay- 
ctteville  to  Cheraw,  in  South  Carohna,  and  stopped  for  the 
night  at  the  house  of  a  respectable  Protestant  lady.  The 
lady  being  elderly,  used  the  privilege  of  her  sex,  and  made 
many  enquiries  respecting  her  guests.  Having  satisfied 
herself  on  various  points,  she  at  length  asked  Father 
O'Neill  if  he  had  a  family.  'Yes,  madam,'  rephed  the 
priest.  '  Ho v/  many  children  have  you,  sir  ? '  enquired 
the  lady.      'Two  hundred,  madam,'  was  the   astounding 


ISSfc 


404 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


answev.*      Two— two— liiindred,    sir!'    gasped   tliG    bewil- 
dered hostess.     'Yes,  madam— two  hundred/  coolly  replied 
her  guest.     Had  there  been  Mormons  in  those  days,  she 
might  have  imagined  she  had  afforded  hospitality  to  Brig- 
ham  Young  himself  ;  but  as  Joe  Smith  had  not  then  made 
his  famous  discovery,  she  possibly  had  a  vague  idea  of  the 
Grand  Turk,  or  some  such  polygamous  potentate,  being 
beneath  her  modest  roof.     She  became  silent  and  reserved, 
displaying  an  icy  civihty  to  the  minister  with  the  appal- 
hngly  large  family.     On  a  subsequent  occasion  Mr.  Byrne 
travelled  alone,  and  stopped  at  the  same  house.     The  old 
lady  rather  hesitatingly  enquired  after  *  the  other  minister,' 
and  then,  with  more  marked  hesitation,  asked  if  it  were 
really  true  that  he  had  so  enormous  a  family  as  he  said  he 
had.     Father  Byrne  laughed  heartily  at  the  question,  but 
more  at  the  manner  in  which  it  was  asked,  and  explained 
that  Catholic  priests  did  not  marry  ;  that  by  his  200  '  child- 
ren'  Father   O'Neill  meant   his   congregation — whom   he 
regarded  in  that  light.     The   old   lady's  face   brightened 
with  pleasure  at  the  explanation  of  what  had  been  a  source 
of  serious  and  constant  perplexity  to  her  ever  since  she  had 
heard  the  startHng  statement  from  the  lips  of  'the  other 
minister.'     'Well,  sir,  he  must  be  a  good  man ! '  she  said  ; 
*  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  understand  him  at  the  time.     That's 
just  the  way  a  minister  should  speak  and  think  of  his  flock. 
Be  sure,  sir,  to  give  him  my  respects  w^hen  you  meet  him, 
and  tell  him  I  shall  be  always  happy  to  have  him  in  this 
house.'    For  the  future  the  good  old  soul  felt  no  embarrass- 
ment when  enquiring  after  the  two  hundred  children  of 
the  Irish  Priest. 


liG    bewil- 
lly  replied 

days,  she 
f  to  Brig- 
hen  made 
lea  of  the 
ite,  being 

reserved, 
he  appal- 
vlv.  Byrne 

The  old 
minister/ 
if  it  were 
e  said  he 
stion,  but 
explained 
00  '  child- 
whom  he 
rightened 
L  a  source 
e  she  had 
the  other 
she  said  ; 
s.  That's 
his  flock, 
leet  him, 
a  in  this 
nbarrass- 
ildren  of 


CHAPTER  XXin. 

Dangers  from  witliin  and  wlthout-The  Lay  TrusteoH  -A  Darin^ 
IIT'^Tk  T\"]l  ""f  ^•'^  Charlestovvn  Convont-A  Grateful  ]lut" 
nnV  '^'"Ir^  f>'«closures  of  Maria  Monk'-l'rokstant  Verdict 
on  Maria  Monk. 

THERE  were  in  those  early  days  o^'  the  American  Church 
dangers  from  within  as  well  as  dangers  from  without, 
and  it  may  be  said  that  the  formcTr  were  more   perilous 
to  the  Church,  and  a  more  formidable  obstacle  to  her  influ- 
ence and  progress,  than  those  which  were  purely  external. 
These  interior  causes  of  difiiculty  arose  mainly  from  the 
system  of  lay  trusteeship,  which  in  too  many  dioceses— 
notably  Philadelphia,    New   York,    and    Charleston— were 
the  occasion  of  long-standing  feuds,  and  of  grave  public 
scandal.     Certain  members  of  the  laity—generally  men  of 
Httle  faith,  much  vanity,  and  strong   self-conceit— braved 
and  defied  the  authority  of  their  Bishops,  treated  with  con- 
tempt the  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  even  ventured  to 
appoint  and  dismiss  pastors  at  tlieir  pleasure!    The  great 
body  of  the  faithful  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with  the 
acts  of  those  who,  not  only  by  their  in^rigues  and  turbu- 
lence, but  by  making  their  contentions  the  subject  of  con- 
stant proceedings  in  courts  of  law,  brought  much  discredit 
on   Cathohcity.     It  required,  on   the   part  of  the  Bishop 
who  found  himself  so  painfully  circumstanced,  not  merely 
the  greatest  prudence  and  wisdom,  but  firmness  and  de- 
termination.     Occasionally,    either   through   gentleness   of 
nabi]-e  or  utter  weariness  of  soul,  or  from  a  spirit  uf  con- 
ciliation—in  the   hope    of   healing    an    ugly  wound,   and 


40G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


f«*»i»t=  J-; 


'-"Vli 


' ,».' 


^  preventing  further  evil— a  Bishop  consented  to  surrender 
some  portion  of  liis  legitimate  autliority  ;  but  there  were 
others,  and  those  the  larger  number,  who,  being  of  stronger 
and  sterner  nature,  resolutely  set  their  foot  against  all 
and  every  encroachment  on  the  episcopal  functions,  and,  by 
sheer  force  of  character,  vanquished  the  intriguers,  and 
crushed  schism  wherever  it  showed  its  head.  It  would  be  a 
profitable  task  to  refpr  f-vthcr  to  events  which  may  be  left 
to  merited  oblivion,  Lk  ich  planted  thorns  in  the  mitre 
of  many  an  American  ^.  elate.  TJiere  is,  however,  o  cir- 
cumstance connected  with  the  schism  in  Philadelphia  to 
which  allusion  may  be  made  with  profit. 

To  the  conduct  of  a  misguided  and  headstrong  priest 
named   Hogan,    who   afterwards   apostatized   and   took  to 
self  a   wife,  was  due   a  prolonged  scandal  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.    It  is  sufficient  to  state  that,  although  deprived 
of  his  faculties  by  his  bishop,  he  still  continued  to  perform 
the  priestly   functions— openly   defying   the  episcopal  au- 
thority.    The  daring  contumacy  of  the  unhappy  man  left 
no  option  to  the  bishop  but  at  once  to  cut  him  off  from 
the   church  of  which  he  proved   himself  so   unworthy  a 
minister ;  and  the  priest  was  accordingly  excommunicated 
according  to  the  form  prescribed  by  the  Roman  pontifical. 
This  necessary  act  of  vigour  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop  of 
Philadelphia  was  made  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  most 
daring  hterary  fi-auds  probably  heard  of  in  America  before 
that  date— though,  as  we  shaU  show  a  little  further  on,  a 
second,  of  more  serious  consequences,  was  perpetrated  in 
a  few  years  after.     The  excommunication  being  a  matter 
of  pubhc  notoriety,  it  was  deemed  advisable  by  the  enemies 
of  the  Church  to  turn  it  to  the  best  account  against  the 
'tyranny  and  despotism  of  Rome  ; '  and  accordingly  there 
was  published  in  a  Philadelphia  newspaper  a  form  of  ex- 
communication which,    naturaUy  enough,  excited  no  Httle 
horror  in  the  mind  of  the  community.     A  saniDle  or  two 


A  DARING  HOAX. 


407 


0  surrender 

there  were 

of  stronger 

against  all 

3ns,  and,  by 

iguers,  and 

would  be  a 

may  be  left 

n  the  mitre 

ever,  o  cir- 

idelphia  to 

^•ong  priest 
id   took  to 
the  city  of 
5"h  deprived 
to  perform 
Lscopal  au- 
y  man  left 
n  off  from 
nworthy  a 
imunicated 
.  pontifical. 
'  Bishop  of 
the  most 
dca  before 
:ther  on,  a 
letrated  in 
J  a  matter 
le  enemies 
gainst  the 
ngiy  there 
>rm  of  ex- 
i  no  little 
)le  or  two 


of  this  precious  document  will  afibrd  the  reader  a  sufficient 
idea  of  the  whole  : 

^rlvy  he  be  damned  wherever  he  be,  whether  in  the  house  or  in  the 
stable,  the  garden,  or  the  field,  or  the  highway,  or  in  the  path,  or  in 
11.0  wood,  or  in  the  water,  or  in  the  church;  may  he  be  cursed  in 
livnig  and  in  dying 

May  he  be  cursed  inwardly  and  outwardly,' may  he 'be"  curs'ed'in'his 
branis.  and  in  his  vortex-in  his  temples,  in  his  eyes,  in  his  eyebrows, 
in  his  cheeks,  in  his  jaw-bones,  in  his  nostrils,  in  his  teeth  and  grind- 
ers,  in  his   lips,  in  his    throat,  in   his  shoulders,  in  his   arms,   in  his 

lingers. 

May  he  be  damned  in  his  mouth,  in  his  breast,  in  his  heart  and 
pnrtenance,  down  to  the  very  stomach. 

Even  his  'toe-nails'  were  not  spared  in  this  terrible 
anathema.  Those  who  search  for  the  original  of  this  ex- 
communication in  the  Roman  pontifical  would  fail  to 
discover  it  there  ;  but  those  familiar  with  light  literature 
may  find  it. in  Tridram  Shandy/  In  his  Miscellany,  which 
did  so  much  for  the  defence  of  the  Church  and  the 
cause  of  religion.  Bishop  England,  who  was  thoroughly 
famihar  with  the  writings  of  Laurence  Sterne,  promptly 
exposed  the  unblushing  fraud.  But  as  it  is  difficult  to 
overtake  a  lie,  let  it  have  never  so  short  a  start,  many 
beheved  in  the  cursing  of  the  grinders  and  the  toe-nails— 
perhaps  do  to  this  day. 

That  the  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  Cathohc  Church  was 
as  virulent  as  ever,  we  have  evidence  in  the  Pastoral  Letter 
of  1833  ;  and  an  event  which  followed  shortly  after— the 
burning  of  the  convent  of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts— is 
a  proof  how  successful  were  the  appeals  which  were  then, 
as  in  years  subsequent,  made  by  malignant  sectaries  and 
dishonest  politicians  to  the  passions  of  the  unthinking  and 
the  biiital.     The  Bishops  say  : — 

Wo  notice  with  regret  a  spirit  exhibited  by  some  of  the  conductors 
of  the  press  engaged  in  the  interests  of  those  brethren  separated 
iioiu  our  communion  which  has  within  a  few  years  become  more 
unkind  and  unjust  in  our  regard.    Not  only  do  they  aeeail   us  and 


iW 


408 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


our  institutions  in  a  stylo  of  vituperation  and  ofTenco,  misrepresent 
our  tcnota,  vilify  our  practices,  repeat  tbo  humlred-tiines-refutcd  cal- 
iiuinie.s  of  days  of  angry  and  bitter  contention  in  other  lands,  but  lliey 
hiuJ  even  denounced  you  and  us  as  enemies  to  the  republic,  and  li!iv(> 
openly  proclaimed  the  fancied  necessity  of  not  only  obstructing  our 
progress,  but  of  using  their  best  efforts  to  extirpate  our  religion  ;  and 
for  this  purpose  they  have  collected  largo  sums  of  money.  It  is 
neither  our  principle  nor  cur  practice  to  render  evil  for  evil,  nor  railing 
for  railing ;  and  we  exhort  you  rather  to  the  contrary,  to  render  bless- 
ing, for  unto  this  you  are  called,  that  you  by  inheritance  may  obtain 

a  blessing Wo  are  too  well  known  to  our  fellow  citizens 

to  render  it  necessary  that  we  should  exhibit  the  utter  want  of  any 
ground  upon  which  such  charges  could  rest.  We,  therefore,  advise 
you  to  heed  them  not;  but  to  continue,  whilst  you  servo  God  with 
fidelity,  to  discharge,  honestly,  faithfully,  and  with  affectionate  attach- 
ment, your  duties  to  the  government  under  which  you  live,  so  that 
we  may,  in  common  with  our  fellow-citizens,  sustain  that  edifice  of 
rational  liberty  in  which  we  find  such  excellent  protection. 


There  are  in  Cliarlestown— a  little  outsiae  the  City  of 
Boston,  which  boasts,  perhaps  witb  justice,  of  bemg  the 
A-thens  of  ALicrica — two  monuments.  One  is  a  monu- 
ment of  glory.  The  other  is  a  monument  of  shame.  On 
Bunker's  Hill  is  reared  aloft  a  noble  pillar,  on  which  is 
recorded  the  triumph  of  a  young  nation  in  the  proud  as- 
sertion of  its  right  to  govern  itself  ;  and  among  the  names 
of  the  heroes  who  fought  and  bled  in  the  cause  of  human 
lilierty  are  those  of  CathoHcs,  foreigners  and  natives.  On 
Mount  Benedict,  from  which  the  tower  of  liberty  was  every 
day  beheld,  there  remain  to  this  hour  the  blackened  ruins 
of  the  Ursuline  Convent,  destroyed  on  the  night  of  the 
11th  of  August,  1834,  by  a  ferocious  mob,  to  whose  law- 
less violence  neither  check  nor  impediment  of  any  kind 
was  offered.  Deceived  by  reckless  falsehood,  bhnded  by 
the  foulest  calumnies,  their  passions  infuriated  by  the 
harangues  of  clerical  incendiaries,  a  savage  multitude  flung 
themselves  upon  the  dwelling  of  helpless  women  and 
innocent    children,   and    after    plundering    whatever  was 


i,  misrepresent 
es-refiitcd  cal- 
aiuls,  but  llicy 
blic,  and  havn 
bstiMicling  our 

religion  ;  and 
noney.  It  is 
'il,  nor  railing 
I  render  bless- 
ce  may  obtain 
fellow  citizens 
r  want  of  any 
L'reforo,  advise 
jrvo  God  with 
tionate  attach- 

live,  so  that 
hat  edifice  of 
1. 


the  City  of 
f  being  the 
is  a  monu- 
shame.  On 
3n  which  is 
e  proud  as- 
'  the  names 
B  of  human 
latives.  On 
)j  was  every 
kenecl  ruins 
light  of  the 

whose  hiw- 
)f  any  kind 

bhnded  by 
ted  by  the 
titude  flung 
vomen  and 
latever  was 


BURNING  OF  THE  CIIARLESTOWN  CONVENT.  409 

1  ortable,  and  destroying  what  tht>y  couhl  not  take  away, 
set  fire   to   it   amidst   fiendish    rejoicings,    and   with    the 
most   complete   impunity.     AVhat   was   the   origin   of  this 
infamous  exhibition  of  ferocity  and  cowardice?     A  he— a 
iiction— an  invention— the  coinage  of  a  wicked  or  a  foohsh 
bram.     It  was  the  old  story,  so  grateful   to   the   ear   of 
bigotry.     A  nun  was  said  to  be  detained  in  the  convent 
against  her  will,  and  was  there  pining  in  a  subterranean 
dungeon !     The  old  story,  but  of  marvellous  vitality  and 
eternal  freshness— told  in  Boston  thirty-three  years  since 
-told  in  Montreal  in  a  few  months  after— told  yesterday 
or  to-day  of  any  convent  in  Englaiuh     To  this  story,  old 
and  yet   ever  new,  was   added  the   usual   imputation   of 
the  systematic  infamy  of  women  whor;e  lives  were  devoted 
to  God's  service.    On  Sunday— the  Lord's  Day!-the  trum- 
pet-note of  hate  was  sounded  fvom  more  than  one  pulpit  • 
and  on  Monday  night  the  fine  institution,  erected  at  gi-eat 
cost,  was  given  to  destruction. 

It  would  be  a  malignant   slander  on  the  fair  fame  of 
Boston  to  assert  that  this  disgraceful  outrage,  which  sent 
a  thrill  of  horror  and  disgust  through  the  civihsed  world 
was  sympathised  with  by  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
citizens   of    that    enlightened    community.      So   far    from 
sympathising  with  a  deed  which  was  in  the  last   degree 
dishonouring  to  the  reputation  of  their  city,  a  number  of 
Protestant    gentlemen,    of.  position    and    influence,   were 
appointed   at   a   meeting,  pubhcly  held  the   day  after  in 
FaneuH  Hall,  to  investigate  the  circumstances  of  the  oat- 
rage,  and  assist  in  bringing  the  perpetrators  to  justice      A 
report  was  presented  by  that  committee,  with  the  signa- 
tures of  thirty-eight  eminent  citizens  attached  to  it.    Drawn 
up  with  singular  ability,  it  put  to  shame   the  miserable 
bigots  to  whose  malice  or  fanatical  credulity  the  national 
scandal  was  entirely  owing.     The  Committee,  after  describ- 
ing the  Order  of  Ursulines,  their  objects,  and  their  institu- 
tion--of  which  they  state  that  of  sixty  pupds,  'for  the  most 


I 

1 


410 


THE  IRISH  ;n  AMKUICA. 


2W| 


."waMEjipitiM 


¥ 


part  chilclroii  of  tlioso  among  tho  moHt  respectable  families 
ill  the  country,  of  variouH  reli<,aonH  clenomiiijition.s,'  not 
more  than  ten  of  ^vhom  jit  any  time  were  Catholics— 
they  present  a  strikin-r  picture  of  the  outra<,^e,  whicli 
-they  iiuli<,niantly  aenounce.  Even  at  this  day— for  cal- 
umny is  still  rife,  and  fanaticism  never  dies— it  may  be 
useful  as  well  as  instructive  to  reproduce  this  startliii<^' 
description  of  what  men  will  do  when  impelled  by  a  bhnd 
savage  impulse  of  unchristian  hate. 

'At  iliu  time  of  tbis  attack  upon  tho  convont,'  sny  tho  Committco 
of  Proti'stiint  Kcutlcincii,  '  thore  woro  within  its  walls  about  wixty 
IcMualo  cbildroii  and  ton  adults,  oiui  of  whom  was  in  tho  last  stage  of 
pulmonary  consumption,  another  suHenng  under  convulsion  fits,  and 
the  unhappy  female  who  had  been  the  immediate  cause  of  the  excite- 
ment was,  by  the  agitation  of  this  night,  in  raving  delirium.  No 
warning  was  given  of  tiie  intended  assault,  nor  could  tho  miscreants, 
by  whom  it  was  made,  have  known  wh(!ther  their  missiles  might  not 
kill  or  wounfl  the  lielpless  inmates  of  tliis  devoted  dwelling.  For- 
tunately for  them,  cowardice  prompted  what  mercy  and  manhood 
denied :  after  tho  first  attack  the  assailants  paused  awhile,  from  the 
fear  that  some  secret  force  was  concealed  in  the  convent,  or  in  ambush 
to  surprise  tliem  ;  and  in  the  interval  the  governess  was  enabled  to 
securethe  retreat  of  her  little  flock  and  terrified  sisters  into  the  garden. 
But  before  this  was  fully  efiected,  the  rioters,  finding  they  had  nothing 
but  women  and  children  against  them,  regained  their  courage,  and  ere 
all  the  inmates  could  escape,  entered  the  building 

'Three  or  four  torches,  which  were,  or  precisely  resembled  engine 
torches,  were  then  brought  up  from  the  road ;  and  Immediately  u'pon 
their  arrival  the  rioters  proceeded  into  every  room  in  tlio  building, 
rifling  every  di-awer,  desk,  and  trunk  which  they  found,  and  breaking 
up  and  destroying  all  the  furniture,  and  casting  much  of  it  irom  the 
windows ;  sacrificing  in  their  brutal  fury  costly  pianofortes,  and  harps, 
and  other  valuable  instruments,  the  little  treasures  of  the  children 
abandoned  in  the  hasty  flight,  and  even  the  vessels  and  symbols  of 
Christian  worship. 

'Alter  having  thus  ransacked  every  room  in  the  building,  they 
proceeded,  with  great  deliberation,  about  one  o'clock,  to  make  prepa- 
rations for  setting  fire  to  it.  For  this  purpose,  broken  furniture, 
books,  curtains,  and  other  combustible  materials,  were  placed  in  the 
centre  of  several  of  the  rooms ;  and,  as  if  in  mockery  of  God  as  well 
as  of  man,  the  Bible  icas  cast,  loith  shouts  of  exultation,  upon  the  pile 


A  GRATKF(/L  RUFFIAN. 


411 


tiihlo  families 
iiijitioiiH,'  not 
)  Cutliolies — 
truf^^o,  wbicli 
lay — for  cul- 
) — it  may  bo 
his  startliiiiT 
Del  by  a  blind 

tho  Committee 
Is  about  Hixty 
L'  last  stago  of 
ulsion  fits,  ami 
'■  of"  tlie  oxcitc- 

dolirliim.  No 
tho  miscreants, 
^llt'3  might  not 
l\V(!lling.      For- 

and  manliood 
vhile,  from  thn 
,  or  in  ambush 
vas  enabled  to 
ito  tlie  garden. 
ij  had  nothing 
iirage,  and  ero 

ambled   engine 

nediately  upon 

tho  building, 

and  breaking 

of  it  from  the 

tes,  and  harps, 

the   children 

id  symbols  of 

building,  they 
)  make  pre  pa- 
ken  furniture, 
placed  in  the 
'  God  as  well 
upon  the  pik 


Jii'sl  knulM;  and  as  upon  this  xcere  SHhsvqncnthj  thronm  the  ve.slmn.ts 
used  ,n  rvh.jhms  service,  and  the  ornament.',  of  the  altar,  those  shouh  and 
ydls  were  repeated.  Nor  did  they  cease  untii  the  cro.s.s  was  xcrenched 
Jroin  Us  place,  as  the  final  triumph  of  this  fiendish  enterprise.' 

But  the  work  of  (Icstruction  did  not  end  hero ;  for  after 
l.urninj,^  down  the  bishop's  lod-e,  in  whieh  there  was  a 
valuable  hbrary,  the  rioters  proceeded  to  the  farm-house, 
and  ^ave  it  also  to  th«  flames,  and  then  reduced  an  exten- 
Kive  barn  to  ashes.  'And  not  content  with  all  this,'  say  tho 
Committee  of  Protestant  {-entlemen,  '  Ihrij  ljiu\st  opni  the 
tomb  of  the  edahli,hm<mt,  rijlcd  it  of  the  mvred  vcshhIh 
there  deported,  ivredcd  the  platen  from  the  coffuin,  and 
e.rpoml  to  view  the  mouldering  remains  of  their  tenants  !  ' 

•Nor,' say  they,  'is  it  tho  least  humiliating  feature  in  this  scone  of 
cowardly  and  audacious  violation  of  all  that  man  ought  to  hold  sacrod 
and  dear,  that  it  was  perpetrated  in  the  presence  of  men  vested  with 
authority,  and  of  multitudes  of  our  fellow-citiziMis,  while  not  one  arm 
was  lifted  in  defence  of  helpless  women  and  children,  or  in  vindication 
of  the  violated  laws  of  God  and  man.  The  spirit  of  violenci^  sacrilege, 
and  plunder  reigned  triumphant.  Crime  alone  seemed  to  confer  cour- 
age, while  humanity,  manhood,  and  patriotism  quaiL'd,  or  stood  irreso- 
lute and  confounded  in  its  presence.' 

The  report,  able  and  searching,  thus  stingingly  con- 
cludes: 'And  if  this  cruel  and  unprovoked  injury,  perpe- 
trated in  the  heart  of  the  commonwealth,  be  permitted  to 
pass  unrepaired,  our  boasted  toleration  and  love  of  order, 
our  vaunted  obedience  to  law,  and  our  ostentatious  prof- 
fers of  an  asylum  to  the  persecuted  of  all  sects  and  nations, 
may  well  be  accounted  vainglorious  pretensions,  or  yet 
more  wretched  hypocrisy.' 

There  were  trials,  no  doubt ;  but,  save  in  one  instance, 
they  ended  in  the  acquittal  of  the  accused,  of  whom  the 
leader  was  a  ferocious  savage,  who  thus  addressed  his 
sympathising  friends  through  the  pubhc  press : 

A  CA.Rn_Jnhn    R.    Buzzell    begs    leave,    through    your    paper,   to 
tender   his  sincere    thanks    to  the    citizens   of   Charlestown,  Boston, 


I 

I 


412 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Ill 


and    Ciirribii(]^(<>,   for    tho    exi>res.sli)iia   of    kindness    and    j>liU(iuthrojt>f 
niitiiilfsifd    louiirdH    him  on    his   iic(|iiittiil  of  (ho   ciiargo  of   aiding 
tilt'  (lfsinj(;ti(»ii  of  tJHj   convent;    also  \v(»uld  Ki'i'tefully  renienih.-r   (ii. 
yrhtlniKinli/    dcportinad    of    Mr.    W'utsun,    while    iniiirisoned     iti    Cum 
bridf^o  Guol. 


The  reader  may  bo  pardoned  for  not  knowing'  wlietlu  i- 
it  wiiH   tho   individual   (ionipliniented  for   his   f^entlenianlv 
deportment,  or  tho  author  of  tliis  card— this  hulicrous  ami 
shameful    commentary   on    tho    whole    proceedings— that 
was   imprisoned.      AVe   must    assume   that    Mr.    John   11. 
Buzzell,  the  gallant  leader  in  the  outrage  on  wonion  and 
children,  was   the   unwilling   tenant  of  the   jail  of   whi, !; 
Mr.  AVatson  was  the  custodian  of  gentlemanly  deportment. 
Before  this  wretched  man  Buzzell  died,  he  admitted,  what 
his  jury  would  not,  that  he  was  one  of  the  perpetrators  of 
the  outrage.     And  from  the  day  that  Mr.  Buzzell  returned 
his  thanks  for  the   '  kindness  and   philantliropy '  of  those 
who  stamped,  and  yelled,  and  clapped  their  hands  at  his 
acquittal,  and  for  Mr.  Watson's  '  gentlemanly  deportment ' 
to  him  while  in  jail,  that  atrocious  violation  of  tho  laws  of 
God   and   man   is,  we   shall  not   say  unavenged,  but  yet 
unredi-essed  ;  to  this  hour,  and  as  it  were  within  the  very 
shadow  of  the  proud  record   of  Boston's  glory,   lie   the 
blackened  evidences  of  Boston's  shame. 

Bigotry  is  the  most  contagious  of  all  diseases  of  the 
human  mind,  nor  is  there  any  moral  epidemic  whose 
poison  travels  more  swiftly,  or  affects  more  readily  or 
more  fatally  the  sobriety  of  communities.  From  Charles- 
town,  Massachusetts,  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the 
malignant  influence  was  borne;  but  had  the  John  II. 
Buzzells  of  the  latter  city  attempted  to  carry  their  inten- 
tions into  execution,  they  would  have  experienced  some- 
thing less  pleasant  than  'kindness  ond  philanthropy' and 
'gentlemanly  deportment;'  for  at  the  first  hint  of  danger, 
a  gallant  band  of  Irishmen  rallied  in  defence  of  the  men- 
aced convent  of   Charleston,  and  its  Irish  Bishop  coolly 


•AWFUL  DISCLOSURES  OF  MARIA  MONK.' 


418 


1<1  pl(U(i))th>'oivf 
ifu  of  (liiliii);  ill 
r  roiiu'iiibfr  (|i,. 
iuiiL'd    ill    Ciiiii 


v'nVff  wliotlu  r 

pftjiitleiiuiiily 
lulicrous  and 
iodiiigs — that 
Ir.   Joliii   11. 

womon  and 
ail  of   will  !. 

doportniont. 
ruitted,  what 
•petrators  of 
:ell  returned 
py'  of  those 
liands  at  his 
deportment ' 

the  laws  of 
fed,  but  yet 
hill  the  very 
ory,    lie   the 

sasGS  of  the 
emic   whose 
readily   or 
3ni  Charles- 
arolina,  the 
le  John  II. 
their  intcn- 
nced  soine- 
thropy'  and 
;  of  dang'cr, 
)f  the  men- 
shop  coolly 


f'xarniiicd  the  flints  of  their  rifles,  to  RatLsfy  himself  that 
flun-e  should  be  no  missing  fire— no  failure  of  summary 
jiistico.  The  John  R.  Buzzells  are  bravo  against  women  ; 
bat  they  eiire  less  to  see  a  man's  eyo  gleaming  along  a 
1  lusket-barrel,  if  the  ominous-looking  tube  bo  pointed  at 
Ihcir  precious  persons.  So  in  .riouth  Carohna  and  in  other 
States,  the  resolute  attitude  of  those  who  would  havo 
wilHngly  died  in  defence  of  the  best  and  noblest  of 
humanity,  saved  the  country  at  that  time  from  still 
(leejier  disgrace. 


Shortly  after  the  destruction  of  the  Charlestown  Convent 
by  tire,  there  was  perpetriited  perhaps  the  most  daring  as 
well  as  the  most  infamous  swindle  upon  public  credulity 
ever  recorded  in  the  history  of  fraud  ;  namely,  the  'Awful 
Disclosures  of  Maria  Monk '—the  result  of  a  foul  con- 
spiracy, of  which  a  dissolute  preacher  and  his  miserable 
tool  were  among  the  chief  actors.  Although  that  '  damn- 
able invention'  was  exposed  in  all  its  naked  vileness ; 
though  Maria  Plonk's  mother  made  solemn  oath  that  the 
abandoned  preacher,  her  daughter's  paramour,  had,  with 
another  of  the  conspirators,  unavailingly  endeavoured  to 
bribe  her  to  support  the  imposture  ;  though  the  sect  to 
which  the  preacher  belonged,  and  whom  he  had  cheated 
in  some  money  transactions,  flung  him  off  with  pubhc 
<xpressions  of  loatliing ;  though  the  conspirators  after- 
wards wrangled  about  their  infamoas  spoils,  and  more  than 
one  of  them  admitted  the  falsehood  of  the  whole  story  ; 
iliough,  in  fact,  it  was  proved  that  the  Awful  Disclosures 
V. eve  a  verbal  copy  of  a  Spanish  or  Portuguese  work  which 
had  been   translated   half  a  century   before  ;*  though  the 

*  The  Dnstnn  Pilot  thus  exposed  the  daring  imposture  :— 

'  W'i  arc  ready  and  wilUng  to  declare  upon  oath,  that  the  extracts  which  we 
have  seen  in  the  New  York  I'ranmipt  £/>./«»  v«,.«.\.^  i>..„/  c...;.«,  ^„-,„.  ... , 
ctlier  respectable  periodicals,  purporting  to  be  extracts  from  the  diacloaures  of 


414 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■foflpJ" 


•^• 


monstrous  lie  was  disproved  in  every  form  and  manner  in 
which  a  he  could  be  disproved— still  the  influence  of  that 
he  is  felt  to  this  very  hour,  not  only  in  Canada  and  in  the 
States,  but  in  Europe.     While  in  Canada,  in  the   autumn 
of  18G6,  I  read,  to  my  profound  astonishment,  even  more 
than  to  my  disgust,  an  article  in  a  Canadian  paper  said  to 
have  influence  with  a  certain  class,  written  in  reference  to ' 
education  in  convents,  and    in  which   article  the   hterary 
lunatic  described  those  institutions  as  'sinks  of  iniquity.' 
I  might  have  supposed— did  I  not  know  that  Maria  Monk 
died  in  the  Tombs,  of  New  York,  to  which  prison  she  had 
been  committed  for  theft— that  the  conspiracy  was  still  in 
full  sAving,  and  that  the  writer— to  judge  him  in  the  most 
charitable   manner— was  one  of  its  besotted  dupes.      AVe 
shall  hereafter  see  how  this  atrocious  book,   sworn  to  by 
the  unscrupulous   and   believed  in  by  the  prejudiced,  has 
poisoned  the  minds  of  a  generous  but  credulous  people. 

We  may  dismiss  this  revolting  case  with  a  few  hues  from 
the  statement  of  Colonel  Stone,  of  New  York,  who,  in 
company  with  some  half  dozen  other  persons,  all  of  them 
Protestants,  visited  and  inspected  the  Hotel  Dieu,  of  Mon- 
treal, the  scene  of  the  alleged  iniquities,  which  included 
child  massacre  scarcely  less  wholesale  than  Herod's  slaugh- 
ter of  the  innocents.  It  may  be  remarked  that  several 
parties,  many  of  whom  were  not  without  faith  in  the  'Awful 
Disclosures,'  returned  from  their  investigation  with  the  same 
conviction  as  that  expressed  by  Colonel  Stone,  who  says  :— 

I  have  rarely  seen  so  many  ladles  together  possessing  in  so  great  a 
degree  the  charm  of  mannner.    They  were  all  affability  and  kindness. 

Maria  Monk,  &c  ,  are  to  be  found,  word  for  word,  and  letter  for  letter  (proper  names 
only  being  altered),  in  a  book  translated  from  tlie  Spanish  or  Portuguese  language, 
in  1781,  called  "  The  Gales  of  IIM  Opened,  or  a  Dewlopment  of  the  Secrets  of  N  tinner  it's/' 
and  that  we,  at  present,  arc  the  owner  of  a  copy  of  the  said  book,  which  was  loan(?d 
l>\'  us,  a  year  or  two  since,  to  some  person  iti  Marblehead  or  Salem,  who  lias  not 
returned  it. 

I'he  excommunication  from  Trislram  Shandy,  palmed  off  on  the  American  puLlio 
as  the  genuine  Roman  article,  was  something  iu  the  same  spirit— just  as  ingenious 
as  a  fraud  upon  public  credulity. 


PROTESTANT  VERDICT  ON  MARIA  MONK  415 

(Jhcrfuhess  was  universal,  and  vory  unlike  the  notions  commonly 
.nterLaincl  of  the  gloom  of  the  cloister.  Their  fuoes  wer(  too  often 
wreathed  m  smiles  to  allow  us  to  suppose  that  they  were  soou  to 
ii^sist  in  smothering  their  own  children,  or  that  those  sweet  spirits 
were  soon  to  be  trodden  out  of  their  bodies  by  the  rough-shod  priests 

of  the  Seminary Indeed  I  have  never  witnessed  in   any 

c.mmunity  or  family,  more  unaffected  chterfiilness  and  good  humour, 
nor  more  satisfactory  evidence  of  entire  confidence,  esteem,  and  har- 
Biony  among  each  other. 

Having  tested  every  wall  in  the  building,  examined  every 
receptacle  for  potatoes  and  turnips,  every  dung-con  de- 
voted to  the  incarceration  of  soap  and  candles  or  loaf  sugar, 
poked  at  mortar  with  an  iron-shod  stick,  peeped  into 
every  corner  and  crevice  of  the  whole  establishment,  and 
elaborately  traced  his  progress  and  its  results,  the  Colonel 
thus  pronounces  the  judgment  of  an  intelligent  and  ra- 
tional mind  : — 

Thus  ended  this  examination,  in  which  we  were  most  actively  en- 
gaged for  about  three  hours.  The  result  is  the  most  thorough  con- 
viction that  Maria  Monk  is  an  arrant  inipostor-that  she  never  was  ^ 
nun,  and  was  never  within  the  walls  of  the  Hotel  Dieu~and  consequently, 
that  her  disclosures  are  wholly  and  unequivocally,  from  beginning  to  end, 
unirue-either  the  vagaries  of  a  distempered  brain,  or  a  series  of  calum- 
nies  unequalled  in  the  depravity  of  their  invention,  and  unsurpassed  in 
their  enormity.  There  are  those,  I  am  well  aware,  who  will  not  adopt 
this  conclusion,  though  one  should  arise  from  the  dead  and  attest  it- 
even  though  'Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,'  were  to  speak  from  the  slumber 
of  ages  and  confirm  it. 


I 


41C 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


cti> 


vi-'S 


k  ii 


*iii- 


^■■^ 


ft:-- 


Bisfcop  England's  Devotion  to  the  Negro— The  Frenchman  Van- 
qiiif.hed— The  Bishop  stripped  to  his  Siiirt— Bishop  England's 
Death— Spiritual  Destitution— As  late  as  1817— The  Sign  of  the 
Cross- Keeping  the  Faith^Bishop  Hughes -Bishop  Hughes 
and  the  Scliool  Question— A  Lesson  for  the  Politioians— The 
Riots  of  Philadelphia— Tiie  Native  American  Party— The  Bishop 
and  the  Mayor— Progress  of  the  Church. 

¥E  may  return  to  Bisliop  England,  ere,  worn  out— 
spent  by  fatigue  and  malady— lie  is  snatched  from 
the  faithful  that  loved  him  as  their  father,  and  from  the 
Church  which  honoured  him  as  one  of  her  stoutest  cham- 
pions and  strongest  piUars. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  of  his  position,  arising 
in  no  small  degree   from   the  infidel  spirit  displayed  by 
some  unworthy  members  of  his  flock,  whose  vanity  and 
self-sufficiency  rendered    them    impatient   of    all   control, 
Bishop  England  prosecuted  his  mission  with  characteristic 
energy.     Nor  were  the  three  States  which  constituted  his 
enormous  diocese  wide  enough  for  the  greatness  of  his  zeal.  - 
He  was  to  be  heard  of  in  most  parts  of  the  Union,  preach- 
ing, lecturing,  propagating  truth,  confounding  error;  and 
wherever  he  went  he  was  surrounded  by  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  other  churches,  or  those  who  were  of  no  church,  who 
constitute  a  rather  numerous  body  in  America.     He  also 
made   frequent  visits  to  Europe  ;    and  it  is  told   of  him 
v»=-Ith  truth  that  from  a  chamber  in  the  Vatican  this  'Steam 
Bishop,'  as  he  was  styled  in  Rome,  would  announce  the 
day  when  he  was  to  administer  confirmation  in  the  interior 
of  Georgia !     This  Cathohc  Bishop  found  time  amidst  his 


man  Van- 

Eiigland'a 
gn  of  the 
»  Hughes 
ans — The 
he  Bishop 


rvorn  out — • 
tched  from 
d  from  the 
itest  cliam- 

lon,  arising 
splayed  by 
vanity  and 
ill   control, 
aracteristic 
tituted  his 
of  his  zeal.  • 
3n,  preach- 
error;  and 
ling  mem- 
hurch,  who 
..     He  also 
Id   of  him 
lis  'Steam 
louncc  the 
he  interior 
amidst  his 


BISHOP  ENGL  \ND'S  DEVOTION  TO  THE  NEGRO.         417 

pressing  avocations,  to  promote  the  spread  of  hterary  and 
scientific  knowledge  in  the  City  of  Charleston  ;  and  as  a 
minister  of  peace  he  fulfilled  his  vocation  by  the  formation 
of  an  anti-duelhng  association,  of  which  General  Thomas 
Pinckney,  of  revolutionary  fame,  was  the  president.     As  a 
lecturer,  few,  if  any,  equalled  Bishop  England,  and  in  the 
pulpit  he  had  no  rival  in  his  day  in  the  United  States; 
but  it  was  when  the  Yellow  Fever  made  havoc  among  his 
flock— black  as  well  as  white— that  the  Christian  Bishop 
was  seen  in  all  his  glory.      It  was  as  he  hurried  from  sick 
bed  to  sick  bed,  his  charity  glowing  with  an  ardour  more 
intense  than  the  sun  that  seemed  to  rain  down  fire  on  his 
head,    while  it   scorched  the   ground  beneath   his  badly- 
protected  feet,  that  those  who  were  not  of  his  communion 
thoroughly  understood  the  man.      When  the  poor  negro 
was  in   health,  the   Bishop  would  turn  fi'om  the  wealthy 
and  the  learned  to  instruct  him  in  the  truths  of  religion  ; 
and  when  stricken  down  by  the  plague,  of  which  the  Black 
Vomit  was  the  fatal  symptom,  his  first  care  was  for  the 
dying  slave.     Bishop  England  did  not  venture  to  oppose 
slavery — few  men  would  have  been  rash  enough  even  to 
have    hinted   at   such   a  policy  in  his  day ;   but   he   ever 
proved  himself  the   truest  friend  of  that  unhapjDy  class, 
and  did  much  to  mitigate  the  hardship  of  their  position. 
His,  indeed,  was  the  pohcy  of  his  Church  in  America.* 

In  the  diary  from  which  I  have  quoted,  the  Bishop 
more  than  once  makes  an  entry  of  this  kind :  '  Was 
invited  to  preach  before  the  Legislature  Preached  to 
a  numerous  and  attentive  audience.'  Not  a  word  to 
afford  an  idea  of  the  effect  produced  by  his  discourse. 
But  we  have  in  the  brief  memoir  written  by  his  devoted 
friend  and  admirer,  William  George  Read,  an  account  of 
one  of  these  discourses  and  its  effect : — 

An  illiberal   majority  was  once   organised,  in  the  Lower  House  of 
the  LeglHlature  of  South  Carolina,  to  refuse  a  charier  of  incorporatioo  • 

*  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


418 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


41  i*i 


»■..$ 


«,*» 

■^     »«!* 


to  a  community  of  mm«,  whose  invaluable  services  he  was  desirous  to 
secure  for  tlie  eductrtion  of  the  f(  ale  portion  of  his  floclc  at  Charles- 
ton. They  were  a  braiicli  of  that  same  admirable  UrsuKne  Order 
whose  convent  had  been  pillap:ed  and  burned,  with  such  unmanly 
cruelty,  in  one  of  our  eastern  cities.  Some  of  his  friends  procured 
him  an  invitation  to  preach  before  the  Senate,  and  many  of  tiie 
members  of  the  Lower  House  attended  tlirough  curiosity.  He  spoke 
of  religion,  its  claims,  its  obligations.  He  discoursed  of  toleration. 
Ho  held  up  Massachusetts  to  their  scorn.  He  adverted  to  the  subject 
of  his  charter— hurled  defiance  at  them— showed  them  how  he  could 
possess  the  entire  State,  lor  ecclesiastical  purposes,  had  he  the  means 
to  buy  it,  despite  their  narron'-souled  policy.  He  exposed  to  them  the 
folly  of  driving  those  of  his  communion  from  the  high  road  of  legalised 
establishments,  into  the  bye-paths  of  the  law.  He  changed  his  theme, 
and  told  of  Catholic  charity  ;  arrayed  before  them  her  countless  insti- 
tutions for  promoting  the  glory  God  and  the  welfare  of  man.  There 
was  not  a  dry  eye  in  the  house  ;  his  bill  was  passed  without  a  division 
on  the  following  day. 

It  was  strange  that,  although  Bishop  England's  speaking 
voice  was  rich  and  tuneful,  equal  to  the  expression  of 
every  emotion,  he  had  no  faculty  whatever  for  vocal  har- 
mony, and  lacked  the  power  of  turning  the  simplest  air, 
or  singing  the  least  difficult  bar  of  music.  His  efforts  at 
singing  High  Mass  were  pitiable  ;  and,  were  it  not  for  the 
solemnity  of  the  occasion,  his  performance  would  be  more 
calculated  to  excite  auerriment  than  to  inspire  devotion. 
When  first  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Bandon,  an  attempt 
was  made  by  an  excellent  and  pious  man  to  try  and 
'hammer'  as  much  music  into  the  new  Parish  Priest  as 
would  enable  him  to  get  through  his  functions  as  High 
Priest  with  some  approach  to  decency  ;  but,  though  Father 
England's  Bandon  instructor  was  animated  by  a  profound 
reverence  for  the  dignity  of  Catholic  worship,  he  failed— 
miserably  failed— in  the  hopeless  attempt.  But  what  all 
the  pious  enthusiasm  of  the  honest  Bandonian  could  not 
accomplish  for  the  ungifted  Parish  Priest,  the  vanity  of  a 
Frenchman  made  him  beheve  he  could  succeed  in  achieving 
for  the  great  Bishop  of  Charleston.  The  Frenchman 
felt  confident  he  could  make  the  Bishop  sing ;  the  Bishop 
was  certain,  and  with  better  reason,  that  he  could  not  be 


THE  FRENCHMAN  VANQUISHED. 


419 


as  desirous  to 
ck  at  Cliarles- 
rsiiKne  Order 
5uch  uiunaiily 
iiids   procured 

many  of  tlio 
y.  IIo  spoke 
of  toleration. 
;o  the  subject 
liow  he  could 
he  the  means 
(d  to  them  the 
d  of  legalised 
cd  his  theme, 
)untless  insti- 

man.  There 
out  a  division 

's  speaking 
Dression  of 

vocal  liar- 
mplest  air, 
s  efforts  at 
not  for  the 
Id  be  more 
3  devotion, 
an  attempt 
;o  try  and 
L  Priest  as 
ls  as  High 
igh  Father 
a  profound 
he  failed — 
it  what  all 

could  not 
vanity  of  a 
1  achieving 
J'renchman 
;he  Bishop 
aid  not  be 


made  to  sing.  The  Professor  was  positive  in  his  beHef, 
and  demanded  the  opportunity  of  testing  his  powers,  which 
opportunity  was  freely  afforded  to  him  by  the  Bishop  ;  and 
to  work  they  went,  the  Professor  elated  with  the  antici- 
pation of  his  glorious  triumph,  the  Bishop  thorouglily 
reconciled  to  his  vocal  incapacity.  They  commenced,  the 
teacher  all  zeal,  the  pupil  all  docihty.  'Bravi,  bravi ! ' 
cried  the  Professor,  as  the  first  note  or  two  rewarded  a 
long  and  laborious  lesson.  The  world  would  hear  of  this 
splendid  achievement;  all  America  would  do  homage  to 
science  in  the  person  of  the  Professor.  The  lessons  and 
the  practice  proceeded;  but  as  they  did,  so  did  the  Pro- 
fessor's confidence  abate.  Had  the  task  been  simj^ly  im- 
possible, it  was  his  duty,  as  a  Frenchman,  to  accomphsh  it ; 
but  this  was  something  more  than  impossible.  Still  the 
A^allant  son  of  Gaul  bravely  struggled  on,  hoping  against 
hope — rather,  hoping  against  despair.  At  length,  even 
the  courage  of  his  nation  gave  way;  and  thus  the  crest- 
fallen Professor  addressed  his  doomed  but  smiling  pupil — 
*  Ah,  momeigneur !  vous  prechez  comme  un  ange,  et  vous 
ecrivez  comme  un  ange;  maiH  vom  chantez  diahlement ! 

There  is  a  capital  story  told  of  the  Bishop  doing  duty 
for  a  Protestant  pastor ;  and  it  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
liberal  side  of  American  Christianity,  that  it  may  be  given 
in  the  words  of  Dr.  England's  enthusiastic  admirer,  Mr. 
Read : — 

During  one  of  his  visitations  he  had  been  obliged  with  the  loan  of 
a  Protestant  church,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  a  course  of  lectures 
on  the  Catholic  religion.  On  Saturday  evening  the  regular  pastor 
came  to  him  to  'ask  a  fiivour.'  'I  am  sure,'  said  the  Bishop,  'you 
would  not  ask  what  I  would  not  gladly  grant.'  'Occupy  my  pulpit, 
then,  to-morrow !  I  have  been  so  much  engrossed  by  your  lectures 
tluough  the  week,  that  I  have  utterly  forgotten  my  own  pastoral 
charge,  and  am  unprepared  with  a  sermon.'  '  I  should  be  most  happy 
to  oblige  you,  but  are  you  aware  that  we  can  have  no  partnerships?' 
'  I  have  thought  of  all  tliat— regulate  everything  as  you  think  proper.' 
'  At  least,'  Rtii.l  the  Blnliop,  '  1  can  promiHO  you  that  nothing  shall  be 
Baid  or  done  which  you  or  any  of  your  congregation  will  disapprove.' 


420 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


On  the  morrow  the  novel  spcjcfaclo  waa  seen  of  a  Catholic  Bishop, 
arrayed  in  bis  ordinary  episcopal  vesture,  ad-'ancing  to  tlie  pulpit  of 
ttiis  Protestant  congregation,  lie  invited  tliein  to  sing  some  hymna 
he  had  previously  selected  from  tliose  they  were  accustomed  to  ;  read 
to  them  from  the  Douay  translation  of  the  Bible;  recited  appropriate 
jirayors,  such  as  all  could  freely  join  in,  from  a  book  of  Catholic 
devotion;  preached  them  a  sound  practical  discourse,  and  dismissed 
them  with  a  blessing ;  wondering  if  such  could  be  the  doctrine  and 
the  worship  they  had  so  often  heard  denounced  as  'the  doctrine  of 
devils.' 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  Bishop  to  wear  his  ordinary 
episcopal  robes — soutane,  rotchet,  and  short  purple   cape 
— whenever  he  was  preaching,  whether  in  a  pubhc  court- 
house or  a  Protestant  church.     Many  of  these  latter  build- 
ings being  in   his   time   rather  primitive   structures,   and 
affording  little  accommodation  for  robing,  he  was  frequently 
compelled   to   perform   his   ecclesiastical  toilet  behind  the 
pulpit.     This  happened  on  one  occasion,   when   his  fame 
was  at  its  height,  and  people  of  every  creed,  as  well  as 
class  and  condition,  rushed  to  hear  the  famous  preacher. 
One  of  the  robes  worn  by  a  bishop,  the  rotchet,  is  a  kind 
of   surplice,   usually  made   of    muslin   or  fine  hnen,    and 
trimmed  with    lace.      Dr.    England  remained   some   time 
hidden  fi'om  the  view  of  the  audience,  probably   engaged 
in  prayer;    and  the  expectation  was  somewhat  increased 
in  consequence.     At  length,  one,  more  impatient  or  more 
curious  than  the  rest,  ventured  on  a  peep,  and  saw  the 
Bishop  in  his  rotchet,  and  before  he  had  time  to  put  on 
his    cape;    and,    rather    forgetting    the    character    of  the 
place,  and  the  nature  of  the  occasion,  he  cried  out  in  a 
voice    that    rang    throughout    the    building — 'Boys!   the 
Bishop's  stripped  to  his  shirt ! — he's  in  earnest,  I  tell  you ; 
and  darn  me,  if  he  ain't  going  to  give  us  hell  this  time.' 
The  Bishop,  wlio,  Irishman  like,  dearly  loved  a  joke,  and 
who  frequently  told  the  story,  ever  with  unabated  relish, 
mounted   the   steps   of    the  i)ulpit,    and  looked  upon  his 
audience  as  calmly  and  with  as  grave  a  countenance  as  i/ 
these  strange  words  had  never  reached  his  ears. 


BISHOP  ENGLAND'S  DEATH. 


42] 


'lolic  Bishop, 
;he  pulpit  of 
some  hymna 
10(1  to  ;  read 
l1  appropriate 
of  Catholic 
nd  dismissed 
doctrine  and 
!  doctrine  of 

3  ordinary 
irple  capo 
blic  court- 
,tter  build- 
tures,  and 
frequently 
)eliind  the 

his  fame 
as  weh  as 

preacher. 

is  a  kind 
Linen,  and 
5ome  time 
J  engaged 

increased 
t  or  more 
d  saw  the 

to  put  on 
er  of  tho 
i  out  in  a 
Boys !  the 
I  tell  you ; 
this  time.' 

joke,  and 
ted  relish, 

upon  hia 
ance  as  if 


Too  soon,  alas  !  was  the  life  of  the  great  Bishop  to  come 
to  a  close.  Returning  from  Europe  in  a  ship  amongst 
whose  steerage  passengers  malignant  dystentery  broke  out, 
this  noble  Christian  minister  laboured  incessantly  in  the 
service  of  the  sick.  He  was  at  once  priest,  doctor,  and 
nurse,  and  daring  the  voyage  he  scarcely  ever  slept  in  his 
cabin  ;  an  occasional  doze  on  a  sofa  was  all  that  his  zetll 
and  humanity  would  allow  him  to  enjoy.  Exhausted  in 
mind  and  body,  and  with  the  seeds  of  the  fatal  disease,  in 
his  constitution,  Dr.  England  landed  in  Philadelphia  ;  but 
instead  of  betaking  himself  to  his  bed,  and  placing  him- 
self under  the  care  of  a  physician,  he  preached,  and  lec- 
tured, and  transacted  an  amount  of  business  suited  only 
to  the  most  robust  health.  In  Baltimore  he  stayed  four 
days,  and  preached  five  times. 

'When  he  arrived  hero/  says  Mr.  Read,  'his  throat  wag  raw  with 
continued  exertion.  I  discovered  the  insidious  disease  that  was  sapping 
his  strength.  I  saw  his  constitution  breaking  up.  He  was  warned" 
with  the  solicitude  of  tho  tenderest  affection,  against  continuing  these 
destructive  efforts.  The  weather  was  dreadful.  But  he  lelt°it  his 
duty  to  go  on.  He  said  only,  "I  hope  I  shall  not  d.-op  at  the  allar— 
if  I  do,  bring  me  home."  He  wished  to  do  the  work  he  was  sent  to 
perform.  Exhausted  by  fatigue,  overwhelmed  with  visitors,  he  was 
yet.i.ady  at  the  last  moment  to  give  an  audience  to  a  stranger  who 
begged  admission  for  the  solution  of  a  single  doubt ;  and  never  did  I 
listen  to  so  precise,  so  clear,  so  convincing  an  exposition  of  the  trans- 
substantiated  presence  of  our  Redeemer  in  the  Holy  Eucharist.  His 
auditor  was  a  person  of  intelligence  and  candour,  and  the  Bishop  ex- 
hausted, for  his  instruction,  the  resources  of  philosophical  objection  to 
the  sacred  tenet ;  to  show  how  futile  are  the  cavils  of  man  iu  opposition 
to  the  explicit  declaration  of  God.' 

His  death  was  worthy  of  his  life.  Nothing  could  be 
more  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  Christian  Bishop. 
The  dying  words  of  this  great  Prelate  of  the  American 
Church,  addressed  to  his  clergy,  who  were  kneehng  round 
his  bed,  were  noble  and  impressive,  full  of  paternal  solici- 
tude for  his  flock,  and  the  most  complete  resignation  to 
the  will  of  his  Divine  Master.     He  humbly  solicited  the 


422 


THE  lUlSII  IN  AMERICA. 


CS^ 


I 


T) 


forgiveness  of  his  clergy,  for  whatever  might  at  the  time 
have  seemed  harsh  or  oppressive  in  his  conduct ;  but  he 
truly  declared,  that  ho  had  acted  from  a  sense  of  duty  and 
m  the  manner  best  adapted  to  the  end  he  had  in  view- 
their  good.      'I  confess,'  said  the  dying  Prelate,   'it  ha. 
likewise  happened,  owing  partly  to  the  perplexities  of  my 
position,    and   chiefly  to   my   own    impetuosity,    that    my 
demeanour  has  not  always  been  as  meek  and  courteous  as 
It  ever  should  have  been;  and  that  you  have  experienced 
rebufis,  when  you  might  have  anticipated  kindness.     For- 
give me!     TeU  my  people   that  I  love   them-teU  them 
how  much  I  regret  that  circumstances  have  kept  us  at  a 
distance  from  each  other.     My  duties  and  my  difficulties 
have    prevented  me   from   cultivating   and    strengthenino- 
those  private  ties  which  ought  to  bind  us  together  •  your 
functions  require  a  closer  and  more  constant  intercourse 
with  them.      Be   with   them-be   of  them-win   them   to 
(^od.     Guide,  govern,  and  instruct  them,  that  you  may  do 
It  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief.'     In  this  his  last  address 
he  did  no^  forget  his  infant  institutions,  which  were  never 
so  dear  to  his  paternal  heart  as  at  that  moment,  when  he 
appealed  to  his  weeping  clergy  in  their  behalf ;  and  to  the 
Sisters,  who  afterwards  knelt  by  his  bedside,  he  bequeathed 
lessons   of  wisdom  and  courage.     Almost   his  last  words 
were,  'I  had  hoped  to  rise-but  I  bow  to  the  will  of  God 
and  accept  what  He  appoints.'  * 

By  his  grave  stood  the  representatives  of  every  sect  and 
communion,  offering  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  one 
who  did  honour  to  his  native  land  in  the  country  of  his 
adoption.  The  press  of  the  United  States  joined  in  one 
universal  chorus  of  sorrow  for  his  loss,  and  admiration  of 
his  exalted  merits  as  a  scholar  and  orator,  as  a  Christian 
nnnister,  a  patriot,  and  a  citizen  ;  for  had  he  been  born 
on  her  soil,  he  could  not  more  thoroughly  have  identifled 

in-iol  sXr.  t'aT^I  and  accon.p,ished  Bishop  of  Charleston  was  one  of  the 

o    h     n!b    '  ^ds     ;?r'"t  ''  ""  ^'''  ^^^'^°^''  -'^  P— ^'i  -  f-thful  record 
oi  1113  uowe  ^\ords.    Dr.  Lynch  is  the  son  of  Irish  parents 


SPIRITUAL  DESTITUTION. 


423 


:  at  the  time 
-luct ;  but  lio 

of  duty,  and 
lad  in  view — 
*late,  'it  lui,>. 
xities  of  ni}' 
ty,  that  my 
courteous  hh 

experienced 
iness.  For- 
1 — tell  them 
kept  us  at  a 
y  difficulties 
rengthening- 
ether  ;  your 

intercourse 
in  them  to 
you  may  do 
iast  address 

were  never 
it,  when  he 

and  to  the 
bequeathed 

last  words 
ill  of  God, 

ry  sect  and 
lect  to  one 
ntry  of  his 
tied  in  one 
niration  of 
a  Christian 
been  born 
3  identified 

.'as  oue  of  the 
faithful  record 


himself    with   the  glory  and  greatness   of  America  than 
he  did. 

E^en  in  1842,  when  he  was  lost  to  the  Church,  his  flock 
— scattered  over  three  vast  States — did  not  exceed  8,000 
souls  ;  but  by  his  matchless  zeal  and  singular  power  of 
organisation,  and  his  firmness  in  dealing  with  the  turbulent 
and  refractory,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  order  in  the 
mist  of  chaos  ;  and,  by  his  own  living  example  of  every 
virtue  which  could  adorn  humanity,  even  more  than 
by  his  intellectual  power,  did  the  illustrious  Bishop 
England  render  the  name  of  Catholic  respected. 


'^\^len  in  1832  the  first  Council  of  Baltimore  assembled, 
the  CathoUcs  of  the  United  States  numbered  not  less 
than  half  a  million.  In  1830,  according  to  Bishop  Dubois, 
the  Catholic  population  of  the  diocese  of  Nev/  York  was 
150,000,  of  whom  35,000  were  in  the  city  of  that  name. 
In  1834  the  number  in  the  latter  must  have  been  at  least 
50;000,  and  in  the  diocese  200,000,  as  emigration  was 
steadily  setting  in  ;  and  though  the  emigration  of  that 
day  was  generally  diffused  through  the  country,  still  the 
greater  portion  of  this  life-current  was  even  then  directed 
to  the  Empire  City.  There  were  at  that  time — in  1834 — • 
in  the  entire  of  the  State  of  Nevr  York  and  the  portion  of 
New  Jersey  combined  with  it  in  the  diocese,  but  nineteen 
churches^  not  a  few  of  which  were  utterly  unworthy  of  that 
distinction-  -being  miserable  wooden  shanties,  hastily  run 
up  by  poor  congregations  ;  and  the  number  of  priests  for 
this  enormous  territory,  which  is  now  divided  into  five 
dioceses,  did  not  exceed  five-and-twenty !  Too  many  of 
the  scattered  congregations  of  this  vast  diocese  had  not  for 
years  seen  the  fuce  of  a  priest,  or  heard  the  saving  truths 
of  religion  from  a  minister  of  their  owni  faith  ;  and  the 
young  people  grew  up  to  manhood  and  womanhood  with 
only  such  imperfect  knowledge  of  sacred  subjects  as  tlie 
scanty  information  of  simple  parents    could  afford   them. 


424 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ffJe^^il 


•^ 


Ono  may  easily  ima-iiio  how  difficult  it  was,  uiKlor  those 
circumstances,  for  tho  Irish  Catholic  to  preserve  the  faith 
Ihe  Insh  Protestant,  no  matter  of  what  sect  or  denomina- 
tion, found  a  chrrch  and  a  congregation  wherever  he  went 
and  with  Inm  there  was  neither  inducement  nor  necessity 
to  cliango.     Indeed,  the  position  held  then,  and  for  Ion' 
a  Or,  by  the  Cathohcs  in  America,  did  not  offer  any  special 
attraction   to   those   of  other    communions    to    join    their 
ranks  ;  and  while  aU  sects  of  Protestantism  enjoyed   com. 
paratively  ample  means  and  opportunities  for  public  wor- 
ship,   the   Catholic   lacked   them   altogether  in    too  many 
instances      Save  in  cities   and  towns,  and  not  always  in 
these    either,  the    Catholic  had   no    church,  no  priest,  no 
instruction,   no  spiritual  consolation-nothing,  in  fact    to 
depend    on    for   the    preservation    of   the   faith,  until'the 
coming  of  the  better  days  for  which  ho  ardently  longed    - 
but  the  grace  of  God  and  his  own  steadfastness  ' 

Albany,     and     Buftalo,    and    Brooklyn,     and     Newark 
which  are  now,  in  a  CathoHc  sense,  cathedral  cities,  and 
the   centres   of    prosperous   dioceses,   having    a    complete 
ecclesiastical  organisation  of  their  own,  were  each  'seized' 
by  a  single  priest  in  1834.     When  Bishop  Dubois  visited 
Jiullalo  in  1829,  he  found  a  congregation  of  800  Catholics 
about  half  of  whom  were  Irish,  who  had  been  occasionally 
visited  by  a  clergyman  from  Eochester  ;    but,  previous  to 
that  arrangement,  they  had  been  for  years  without  havin- 
seen   a  minister  of    then-    Church.      The   first   church-a 
httle  wooden  structure-erected  in  Buffalo  was  in  the  fall 
of  that  year.     But  in  1847,  when  Buffalo  was  formed  into 
a  diocese,  the  state  of  things  discovered  by  Bishop  Timon 
not  only  in  his  first  visitation,  but  on  subsequent  occasions' 
was  httle  different  from  that  recorded  by  Bishop  En-land 
of  his  three  Southern  States  ;    and  while  there  were  more 
Cathohcs  to  be  found  in  the  towns  springing    up    in  the 
State  of  >sew  lork,  the  spiritual  poverty  and  destitution 
were   as   marked  in   the  North  as  in  the  South.     Bishop 
Timon    had    fifteen    priests    to    assist    him,   and   sixteen 


AS  LATE  AS  1847. 


420 


under  those 
've  the  faith. 
r  clenomina- 
'er  he  wont, 
Lor  necessity 
nd  for  lou" 
any  special 
join    their 
joyed   com- 
pubHc  wor- 
•■   too  many 
t  always  in 
)  priest,  no 
in  fact,  to 
1,  until  the 
tly  longed,    ■ 

I     Newark, 
cities,  and 
-    complete 
ih  'served' 
3oiH  visited 
Catholics, 
ccasionally 
>revious  to 
)ut  havinjif 
church — a 
in  the  fall 
rmed  into 
op  Timon, 
occasions, 
1  England 
fere  more 
ip    in  the 
[estitutiou 
.     Bishop 
d  sixteen 


rlmrches  ;  but  wo  arc  told,  on  the  Bishop's  authority,  that 
most  of  them  '  might  rather  bo  called  huts  or  shanties  ; ' 
luid  when  there  was  a  church,  of  whatever  kind,  there  warj 
scarcely  a  sacred  vessel  for  the  ube  of  the  altar,  and  the 
vestments  were  '  few  and  poor.' 

There  is  the  strong  Catholic  hkeness  in  all  tho  Bishops 
of  the  American  Church— the  same  energy,  the  same 
zeal,  the  same  self-sacrilico,  the  same  disregard  of  toil  or 
labour  ;  and  Bishop  Timon's  visitation  in  1847,  or  in  years 
after,  might  be  fitly  described  in  the  very  words  einploy- 
cd  by  Dr.  England  in  1821.  Ho  preached  in  Protestant 
( liurches,  when  they  were  olTerod,  or  the  Cathohcs  conld 
obtain  '  the  loan  of  them,'  or  in  court-houses,  or  in  school- 
houses  ;  or,  when  ho  had  none  of  those  at  his  disposal,  in 
the  open  air.  In  his  first  visitation  Bishop  Timon  con- 
firmed 4,G17  of  his  flock,  half  of  whom  wore  adults— a  fact 
significant  of  previous  spiritual  destitution.  It  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  this  state  of  things  is  limited  to  a 
period  so  remote  as  twenty  years— it  was  the  same  in 
many  of  the  States  so  late  as  a  few  years  back  ;  and  even 
to  this  day  there  are  Catholic  famiUes  in  America  who  have 
rarely  entered  a  church  or  heard  the  voice  of  a  priest. 

There  was  never,  at  any  time,  on  the  part  of  the  Irish 
Cathohc,  a  lack  of  zeal  for  rehgion,  or  an  indifference  as 
to  procuring  a  place  for  the  worship  to  which,  from  his 
infancy,  ho  had  been  accustomed  in  his  own  country. 
Indeed,  one  of  the  inducements  which  the  Irish  had  to 
remain  in  the  great  cities,  instead  of  pushing  on  to  take 
possession  of  the  land,  was  the  facility  afforded,  through 
their  churches  and  their  staff  of  clergymen,  for  practising 
tlieir  rehgion,  and  of  training  their  children  in  the;  know- 
It.'dge  of  its  prmciples.  Still,  better  for  thoasands  had 
they  penetrated  the  remote  forest,  and  there,  in  the  depths 
of  their  own  hearts,  kei)t  alive  the  love  of  the  faith,  and 
thus  lived  on  in  expectation  (.f  happier  days,  than  have 
yielded  to  a  feeling  which  was  commendable  ratlier  than 


m 


42a 


TIIK  HUSH  IS  AMKUICA. 


5, 


•1*,: 


SWttMl 


;■  "^ 


M 


Miirn.'iblo.  It  is  tnio,  tlio  ehiiarcn  of  mixed  marriaf^os— 
osp(>ciiilly  when  tlio  niothor  was  a  iiieiijl)cr  of  soino  Pro- 
lostaut  body,  and  wlioro  the  CatliolicH  wore  few  and  thinly 
J!catt(a('d  arnono;Ht  pei-HonH  of  other  sects— did  occasionally 
adopt  the  reli<rious  belief  of  their  relatives  and  friends'; 
but  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  the  faith  was  cherished,' 
and  kept  strong?  and  ardent  amidst  the  fjravest  discoiira/?e- 
meiits.  When  the  mother  was  a  Cathohc,  there  was  little 
fear  for  the  children  ;  thonc,di  there  have  been  innumerable 
instances  of  fathers  resisting  the  infJuc^nce  of  their  Baptist 
or  Methodist  wives,  and  bringing  up  their  children  in  their 
own  faith. 

There  is  not  a  priest  of  any  experience  in  the  American 
mission  that  has  not  met  with  the  most  interesting  proofs 
of  the  holy  ilamo  burning  in  the  hearts  of  Irish  Catholics 
far   removed  from  a   church.     The  delight  of  these  good 

people   at  a  visit  from  one  of  their  own  clergymen the 

Sorgartli  arooii—is  indescribable.  A  friend,  who  now 
holds  an  eminent  position  in  the  ministry,  told  me  Low  lie 
was  aficcted  by  the  feeling  exhibited  by  an  Irish  woman 
whom  he  visited,  as  much  by  chance  as  design,  in  the 
course  of  a  missionary  tour  whose  extent  might  be  counted 
by  hundreds  of  miles.  He  came  to  a  house  in  the  midst 
of  the  woods,  but  surrounded  with  every  appearance  of 
substantial  comfort ;  and  on  entering  through  the  open 
doorway  he  found  a  number  of  young  people  in  the  prin- 
cipal apartment.  He  was  welcomed,  but  coldly,  by  the 
elder  girl,  who  told  him  that  'mother'  was  somewhere 
about  the  place  with  the  boys.  The  clergyman  asked  some 
questions,  which  at  first  were  replied  to  with  evident  re- 
straint ;  but  when  he  said  he  was  a  Catholic  priest— and 
an  Irish  priest,  too— there  was  an  end  to  coldness  and 
reserve.  The  girl  had  taken  him  for  a  preacher,  of  one 
of  the  many  sects  to  be  found  in  every  part  of  America, 
and  her  courtesy  was  rather  scant  in  consequence.  '  Oh, 
Father,  don't  go  !— I'll  run  and  fetch  mother  I '  cried  the 


THE  SIGN  OF  TIIK  CROSS. 


427 


i^nil,  iia  who  run  out  to  iinpurt  i\w  joyful  iidiii^M  to  \wv 
piu'oiit ;  the  priti.st  in  the  nioiuitime  OHtiibliHhiii^'  frioiully 
njlivtions  witlx  tlio  y()Uiiy:oi'  childrou.  Soon  \V(!i'o  burricul 
stops  hcird  Hi)pro;u;liin{^  tho  houHO,  and  ono  voico,  Imlf 
choked  with  ouiotiou,  Huyhi^' :  *  M.iry,  Miiry,  durliiif^,  nro 
you  Herious? — is  •  it  tho  priest? — is  it  really  the  priest'?' 
iiiiswered  l)y  that  of  tho  dau{,diter  with  :  *  YtiS,  mother 
dear,  it  is  tho  priest,  sure  enough.'  lu  rushed  a  woman 
of  middle  age,  her  arms  outstretched,  and  her  face  flushed 
with  strong  excitement.  Falling  on  her  knees  on  tho 
lloor,  she  exclaimed,  with  an  accent  of  pa-ssionate  suppli- 
cation, that  tlirilled  the  priest  to  his  heart — 'Oh,  Fatluir! 
f(jr  the  sake  of  God  and  his  Blessed  Mother,  mark  mo  with 
tho  sign  of  tlie  Cross ! '  Her  face,  though  merely  comely 
at  best,  was  positively  l)eautiful  in  its  expression  as  her 
pious  rofiuest  was  complied  with.  Tho  example  was  con- 
tagious. The  entire  family  were  at  once  on  their  knees, 
and  'Me,  Father! — don't  forget  me.  Father! — Father,  don't 
forget  me,'  from  tho  youngest,  showed  how  the  mother's 
spirit  pervaded  her  children.  It  was  some  hours  before 
tho  good  woman's  excitement  subsided  ;  and  as  she  busied 
herself  to  do  fitting  honour  to  her  guest — whom  she  assured 
she  would  rather  see  in  her  house  than  the  King  on  his 
throne,  or  the  President  himself — she  constantly  broke  off 
into  pious  ejaculations,  full  of  praise  and  thanks.  The 
priest  remained  long  enough  under  her  hospitable  roof  to 
celebrate  Mass,  which  to  her  was  a  source  of  joy  unspeak- 
able, as  she  looked  upon  her  dwelling  as  sacred  from 
that  moment ;  and  to  strengthen  by  his  instruction  the 
strong  impression  already  made  upon  the  minds  of  her 
cliildren  by  their  pious  mother.  This  good  woman's  hus- 
l)and  had  been  carried  off  by  malignant  fever,  leaving  to 
hor  care  a  largo  and  helpless  family  ;  but,  as  she  said, 
'God  gave  her  strength  to  struggle  on  for  them,'  and  she 
did  so,  bravely  and  successfully,  until  the  eldest  were  able 
to  help  her,   and    abundance    and    comfort  were  in  her 


428 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


^mmuit 


I 


'p». 


i^ 


^t^ 


dwelling.  For  many  years  she  had  not  seen  the  face  of  a 
priest,  or  entered  the  door  of  a  church ;  but  the  faith  was 
strong  in  her  Irish  heart,  and  every  morning  the  labours 
of  the  day  were  blessed  by  the  prayers  of  the  family,  who 
repeated  them  as  regularly  before  they  retired  to  their  un- 
troubled rect :  and  on  Sundays  the  prayers  of  Mass  were 
read,  and  the  litc*nies  were  recited.  Thus  Y,ras  the  faith 
kept  in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  until  the  time  came  when 
the  church  was  erected,  and  the  congregation  knelt  beneath 
its  sacred  roof,  and  the  voice  of  praise  blended  with  the 
swelling  peal  of  the  organ,  and  the  exiles  really  felt  them- 
selves 'at  home'  at  last. 

When  visiting  the  Hospital  of  the   Good  Samaritan  in 
Cincinnati,  I  was  made  aware  of  a  remarkable  instance  of 
how  the  faith  was  kept  by  the  Irish  in"  the  days  when,  from 
want  of  priests  and  churches,  the  spiritual  destitution  of 
CathoKcs  was  extreme.     In  a  ward  of  this  splendid  hospi- 
tal, the  munificent  gift  of  two  Protestant  gentlemen  to  an 
Irish  Sister,*  a  young  priest  was  hurrying  fast  to  the  close 
of  his   mortal    career.      He,  had   been  a  chaplain   in  the 
Federal   service,  in   which,  as   in   the   ordinary  sphere   of 
his  ministry,  he  was  much  beloved,  on  account  of  his  great 
zeal  and  devotedness  ;   but   consumption,  the   result  in  a 
great  measure  of  hardship  and  exposure,  set  in,  and  the 
termination   of    a   Hngering   sickness  was    at    hand.     His 
father  and  mother— the  father  from  Tipperary,  the  mother 
fi-om   'the   Cove   of  Cork '—settled   amidst  the   woods  of 
Ohio,  about  twenty  miles  from  Cincinnati,  and  not  a  family 
within  many  miles  of  their  home.    About  that  time  there 
were   not  mors  than   a   dozen   priests  in   Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  Missouri,  and  but  two  brick  churches  in  Ohio. 
This  was  the  state  of  things  when  Bishop,  now  Archbishop, 
Purcell  was   consecrated.     Little  spiritual  provision   then 
for   the   Irish  family  in   the   woods.      But  the   faith   was 
strong  in  the  hearts  of  the  Irish  parents,  and  they  deter- 
mined that  their  children  should  not  be  without  its  know- 


*S!| 


ee  page  481. 


KEEPING  THE  FAITH. 


429 


he  face  of  a 
le  faith  was 
the  labours 
family,  who 
to  their  un- 
Mass  were 
s  the  faith 
came  when 
elt  beneath 
d  with  the 
■  felt  them- 

maritan  in 
instance  of 
svlien,  from 
ititution  of 
idid  hospi- 
men  to  an 
<o  the  close 
lin   in  the 

sphere  of 
:  his  great 
esult  in  a 
1,  and  the 
land.  His 
he  mother 

woods  of 
)t  a  family 
:ime  there 
,  Indiana, 
js  in  Ohio, 
rchbishop, 
sion  then 
faith  was 
bey  deter- 
its  know- 


ledge. Every  Sunday  the  father  read  the  prayers  of  Mass, 
and  then  gave  an  hour  or  an  hour-and-a-half's  catechetical 
instruction  to  his  young  flock.  Every  night  the  younger 
children,  each  in  their  turn,  recited  the  accustomed 
prayers  ;  and  with  the  aid  of  good  CathoHc  books,  and  a 
couple  of  the  best  of  the  Catholic  newspapers,  the  right 
spirit  was  maintained.  The  father,  who  was  then  in  inde- 
pendent circumstances,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  700  acres 
of  land,  used  to  send,  four  times  a  year,  a  '  buggy '  for  a 
priest,  who  celebrated  Mass  in  the  house,  aaid  explained,  in 
a  better  manner  than  the  father  could  have  done,  the 
principles  of  the  CathoHc  religion.  The  family  grew  up  a 
credit  to  their  Irish  father,  himself  a  credit  to  his  country. 
One  of  the  sons,  thus  taug'  t  amidst  the  sohtude  of  the 
woods,  was  then  closing  a  noble  career  of  priestly  useful- 
ness, and  others  were  exhibiting  the  influence  of  their 
training  in  various  walks  of  life.  The  sound  Catholic 
teaching  at  home  counteracted  whatever  might  have  been 
prejudicial  in  the  district  school,  to  which,  at  a  suitable 
period,  the  young  people  ^Yel'e  sent.  I  had  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  this  fine  old  Tipperary  man,  who,  at  seventy 
years  of  age,  had  the  appearance  of  one  much  younger. 
It  was  men  of  his  stamp,  I  felt,  that  did  most  honour,  in 
America,  to  their  native  land. 

Bishop  England  often  mentioned  his  visit  to  a  family 
whom  he  found  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  and  who  had 
not  seen  a  priest  for  forty  jncars!  But  the  faith  had  been 
preserved  through  the  piety  of  the  parents.  The  Bishop 
described  this  wonderful  fidelity  as  a  miracle  of  grace. 

From  the  foregoing  we  learn  how  the  faith  has  been  kept : 
in  the  following  we  have  an  instance  of  wiiat  a  humble 
man  may  do  for  :ts  advancement. 

In  a  rising  town  of  one  of  the  Northern  States  an  Irish 
priest,  actuated  In-  religious  zeal,  attempted  to  build  a 
church  for  the  accommodation  of  his  flock,  which  at  that 
time  was  small  in  number  and  feeble  in  resources.      Tlie 


430 


THE  IRISH  IN  AAIERICA. 


task  was  beyond  his  and  their  means,  and  the  work,  but 
partially    accomplished,    was    necessarily    suspended.'     A 
poor  Irishman  was  passing  through  the  town,  on  his  way 
to  the   West,  when,  attracted   by  the   appearance  of  the 
unfinished  building,  he  enquired  what  it  was  intended  for, 
and  why  it  was  allowed  to  remain  in  that  incomplete  state.' 
The  reply,  while  it   afforded  the  desired  explanation,  was 
mockmg   and   derisive.      'That  building!    Oh,  it  was  the 
Papists— them  Irish  Papists— that  tried  to  get  it  up  ;  it 
was  too  much  for  them ;  they  couldn't  do  it,  nohow.  '  It 
does  look  ridiculous— don't  it,  stranger?'      'It  does  look 
mighty  quare,  sure  enough,'  was  the  quiet  rejoinder  of  the 
poor  working  man,  who  added,  as  he  first  looked  at  his 
informant,  who  had  passed  on,  and  then  at  the  incomplete 
structure ;    '  but,    'pon   my  faith,  I'll  not   lave   this  place 
'till  it's  fini.slied,  and  I  hear   Mass   said  in   it,  too.'     He 
remained  to  labour  ;   and  being  a  sober  and  thrifty  man, 
his  labour  throve  with  him.     As  other  emigrants  passed 
through   the   town,   also   on   their   way  to   the   West,   he 
induced  several  of  them  to  remain,  and  to  these  he  'soon 
imparted  his    own    spirit.      A   more   vigorous   effort  was 
made,  and  made   successfully,  mainly  owing   to  this  one 
humble  man,  who  ere  long  heard  Mass  in  the  temple  he 
so  effectually  helped  to  raise  ;  and  before  many  years  had 
passed,  there  were  convents  and  schools,  in  which  his  child- 
ren, and  the   children  of  others  once  as  poor  as  himself, 
imbibed  a    thorough    knowledge    of    their    religion,   and 
caught  the  spirit  of  their  fathers.     To  behold  the  cross  on 
that  church  was  the  object  of  his  ardent  desire.     He  did 
behold  it,  and  so  have  many  thousands,  who  worshipped 
beneath  the  roof  which  it  adorns 


When,  in  consequence  of  the  increasing  age  and  in- 
firmities of  the  sainted  Bishop  Dubois,  one  of  those  holy 
men  whom  France  had  given  to  the  American  Ghurcli, 
Dr.   Hughes,  recently  one  uf  the  most  popular   and  in- 


BiSnOP  HUGHES. 


431 


ie  work,  but 
pended.  A 
I,  on  Ins  way 
-ance  of  the 
ntended  for, 
nplete  state. 
Illation,  was 
,  it  was  the 
et  it  up  ;  it 

nohow.  It 
"t  does  look 
inder  of  the 
3ked  at  his 

incomplete 

this  place 
t,  too.'  He 
thrifty  man, 
ants  passed 
3  West,  ho 
3se  he  soon 

effort  was 
to  this  one 
!  temple  he 
Y  years  had 
ill  his  child- 

as  himself, 
ligion,  and 
he  cross  on 
-e.  He  did 
worshipped 


?e   and  in- 

those  holv 

111  Churcli, 

ir   and  in- 


fluential of  the  working  clergy  of  Philadelphia,  assumed, 
as  coadjutor  Bishop,  the  practical  administration  of  the 
diocese  of  New  York,  the  state  of  things  was  not  very 
hopeful.  For  this  diocese,  of  55,000  square  miles  in  ex- 
tent, there  were  then  but  twenty  churches  and  forty 
priests;  with  lay  trusteeship  rampant  in  its  insolence, 
and  disastrous  in  its  mismanagement  ;  the  fruits  of  which 
were  to  be  witnessed  in  the  condition  of  the  city  churches, 
all  of  which  were  in  debt,  and  half  at  least  in  a  state  of 
bankruptcy.  The  venerable  Bishop  Dubois  was  past  the 
age  of  dealing  successfully  with  the  increasing  difficulties 
of  the  position.  But  the  man  who  had  been  providentially 
selected  for,  if  not  the  most  important,  certainly  the  most 
responsible  diocese  in  the  United  States,  soon  proved  him- 
self to  be  in  every  way  equal  to  the  emergency. 

Bishop  Hughes  was  one  of  those  Irishmen  who,  loving 
America,  as  the  asylum  of  their  race,  rapidly  become 
American  citizens,  in  feeling,  in  spirit,  and  in  thought. 
Bold,  fearless,  and  independent,  he  determined  to  assert 
his  rights  of  citizenship  ;  and  no  idea  of  inferiority  to  the 
longest-descended  descendant  of  those  who,  at  one  time, 
were  either  colonists  or  exiles,  ever  crossed  the  mind  of 
that  stout-hearted  prelate.  As  a  minister  of  God,  he  was 
ever  for  peace,  and  by  preference  would  never  have  quitted 
the  precincts  ^of  the  sanctuary  ;  but  there  were  occasions 
when  forbearance  would  have  been  criminal,  and  quiescence 
or  meekness  would  have  been  mere  abject  baseness  ;  and 
when,  for  the  interests  of  religion  and  the  safety  of  his 
flock,  it  was  his  first  duty  to  come  forth  as  a  citizen.  And 
when  these  occasions  occurred,  his  active  interference  was 
crowned  with  success,  and  productive  of  the  happiest 
results.  Bishop  Hughes  held  the  Irish  of  New  York 
in  his  hands  and  under  his  control,  by  the  spell  of  his 
eloquence,  and  the  genuine  ring  of  his  national  convictions  ; 
and  by  their  aid,  and  with  their  fullest  sanction— backed 
by  the  congregations— he  crushed  the  baneful  abuses  of 


432 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


--* 


C3^ 


i 


■if 


* 


the  system  of  trusteeship,  and  terminated  a  struggle  which 
had  been  long  a  source  of  interior  weakness  and  external 
scandal. 

To   such  lengths  had  tlio   evUs   of  this   system   arisen 
under  the  mild  administration  of  the  predecessor  of  Bishop 
Hughes,  that   a  committee   of  the   trustees  waited  upon 
Bishop  Dubois,  and  with  expressions  of  respect  somewhat 
inconsistent   with   the   object   of    their  mission,    informed 
hmi    that    they  could   not   conscientiously  yote    him   his 
salary,  unless   he   comphed   with   their  wishes,   and  gave 
them  such  clergymen  as  were  acceptable  to  them!     The 
reply  given   to   this   cool  insolence  was   characteristic  of 
the    holy  man.      'WeU,    gentlemen,    you    may   yote    the 
salary  or  not,  just  as  seems  good  to  you.     I  do  not  need 
much— I  can  Hve  in  the  basement,  or  in  the  garret ;  but 
whether  I  cpme  up  from  the  basement,  or  down  from  the 
garret,  I  will  still  be  your  bishop.' 

Bishop  Hughes  did  not  destroy  the  system  of  lay  trustee- 
■  ship  ;  he  purged  it  of  its  vicious  abuses  and  defects,  such 
as  were  opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  Church.  There 
was  much  in  it  that  was  useful,  if  not  absolutely  necessary, 
m  the  circumstances  of  the  country ;  but  it  was  essential 
that  it  should  be  regulated  according  to  Catholic  princi- 
ples, and  be  placed  under  proper  ecclesiastical  control. 
Bishop  Bayley,  a  thoroughly  competent  authoritv^  thus 
refers  to  the  ■  services  rendered  to  the  Church  by  Br. 
Hifghes,  whose  courage  and  determination  put  an  end  to 
the  scandal,  at  least  in  the  city  of  New  York  :— 

Those  only  who  have  carefully  studied  the  history  of  th*^  Church 
can  lorm  any  idea  of  the  amount  of  undeveloped  evil  that  lay  hid 
within  that  system  of  uncontrolled  lay-administration  of  ecde-.iasticul 
property,  and  which  partially  exhibited  itself  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  Philadelphia,  and  mor*.  slicrhtly. 
but  stil[_  bad  enough,  here  in  New  York.  The  whole  future  o°f  the 
Church  m  this  country  would  have  been  paralysed,  if  il  had  been 
alU^wed  fully  to  establish  itself:  and,  to  my  mind,  the  must  important 
act  of    Bishop   Hughes'   life~the  one  most  beneflcial  to  reiigion-was 


a 


iggle  which 
ad  external 

tern  arisen 
r  of  Bisliop 
aited  upon 
'  somewhat 
,  informed 
e  him  his 
and  gave 
hem !  The 
3teristic  of 
'  Tote  the 
lo  not  need 
garret ;  but 
n  from  the 

ay  trustee- 
jfects,  such 
3h.  There 
necessary, 
iS  essential 
)lic  princi- 
:vl  viontrol. 
)ritv.  thus 
!h  by  Dr. 
an  end  to 


the  Church 
that  lay  hid 
icolerjiasticul 
-'ston,  South 
ovo  slightly, 
iture  of  the 
It  had  been 
it  important 
-'iigiou— was 


BISHOP  IIUGilES  AND  THE  SCHOOL  QUESTION.         433 

his  thus  bringing  the  whole  Catholic  community  to  correct  ideas  and 
right  pnncipk's  on  this  subject.'* 

Each  year  strengthened  the  influence  of  Bishop  Hughes 
over  his  flock  ;  and  on  two  remarkable  occasions  this"  in- 
fluence was  usefuUy  exerted,-the  first,  in  extinguishing 
a  pestilent  danger  to  faith  and  morals  ;  the  second,  in 
protectmg  the  peace  of  the  city  by  the  firmness  of  the 
Catholic  attitude. 

For    nearly   two    years    the    School    Question,   fiercely 
agitated    in    New  York,   attracted    the    attention  of    the 
country  at  large.     The  system  of  education  against  which 
the  Cathohcs  protested  was  more  than  insidiously  danger- 
ous-it  was  actively  aggressive ;  and  not  merely  were  the 
book   replete  with    sneer    and    hbel    against   that   church 
which  aU  sects  usually  delight  in  assaihng,  but  the  teachers, 
by  their  explanations,  imparted  new  force  to  the  lie  and 
additional  authority  to  the  calumny.      Respectful  remon- 
strances  were   met    either   with   calm   disregard  or   inso- 
lent rebuff.      Pohticians  were  so  confident  of   having  the 
Irish  vote,  no  matter  how  they  themselves  acted,  that  they 
supposed  they  might  continue  with  impunity  to  go  in  the 
very  teeth  of  their   supporters,  and   systematically  resist 
their  just  claims  for  redress.      But   Bishop  Hughes  read 
them  a  salutary  lesson,  the  moral  of  which  it  was  difficult 
to  forget.     With  matcliless  abiHty  he  fought  the  Cathohc 
side  m  the  Municipal  CouncH  against  aU  comers,  represent- 
ing every  hostile  interest ;  and  when  justice  was   denied 
there  and  in  the  Legislature,  he  resorted  to  a  course  of 
pohcy  which  greatly  disturbed  the  minds  of  the  timid,  and 
the  sticklers  for  peace  at  any  price,  but  which  was  foUowed 
by  instantaneous  success.      Holding  his  flock  weU  in  hand 
addressing  them  constantly  in  language  that,  while  it  con- 

*  Discourse  on  tho  Life  and  Character  of  the  Most   Rev.  Archbishop  Hugh,  s 

aehvered  in  St.  Bridget's  Church.  New  York,  Feb.  18C4.  bv  the  Ei.ht  X.    jt;; 

a..;.cvclt  Bayley.  I>.  D.,  Bishop  of  Newark.    TTao  substance  of  this  Discourse  is  g^en 

Hu!hes  tn  fT',  V'"  '''°"'  ''"^""'  "'  ""  ^«™r"^'«  ^'-''^  «f  Archbfshop 
Hiighefc,  pubhshed  bv  Lawrence  Kehoe,  New  York. 

19 


434 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


r3t 


•  14, 


vinoed  their  judgment,  roused  their  rehgious  enthii.siafim, 
ho  .idviscd  them  to  disregard  all  political  ties,  and  vote 
only  for  those  who  were  the  friends  of  the  new  School  sys- 
tem,—which,  it  may  bo  remarked,  was  '  Godless '  at  best,— 
and  the  opponents  of  the  old  system,  which,  as  we  Ikuo 
said,  w^is  actively  aggressive.  The  Bishop  thus  put  the 
case  to  his  flock  : 

The  question  to  be  decided  is  not  the  strength  of  party,  or  the 
emolument  and  patronage  of  office,  but  a  question  between  the  helph-s« 

and  ill-used  children  and  the  Public  School  Society An 

issue  is  made  up  between  you  and  a  large  portion  of  the  community 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  monopoly  which  instils  the  dangerous  prin- 
ciples to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  on  the  other.  The  question 
lies  between  the  two  parties,  and  you  are  the  judges ;  if  you  desert 
the  cause,  what  can  you  expect  from  strangers?  ...  I  have  been 
given  to  understand  that  three  out  of  four  candidates  presented  to 
your  sutfrages  are  pledged  to  oppose  your  claims.  They  may  perhaps 
triumph;  but  all  I  ask  is,  that  tliey  shall  not  triumph  by  the  sinful 
aid  of  any  individuiil  who  cherishes  a  feeling  in  common  with  those 
children.  I  wish  you,  therefore,  to  look  well  to  your  candidates ;  and 
if  they  are  disposed  to  make  Infidels  or  Protestants  of  your  children, 
let  them  receive  no  vote  of  yours. 

The  advice  thus  given  to  them  by  their  Bishop  was  as 
consistent  with  common  sense  as  with  decent  pride.  But 
something  more  was  required  to  be  done,  and  that  was 
done.  With  a  few  exceptions,  the  candidates  of  all  parties 
in  the  field  were  pledged  to  oppose  the  claims  jof  the 
Catholics.  An  independent  ticket  for  members  of  the 
Senate  and  Assembly  was  therefore  suggested  and  pro- 
posed, and  this  was  adopted  at  a  meeting  in  Carroll  Hull, 
with  an  enthusiasm  which  was  owing  even  more  to  the 
pluck  than  to  the  appeals  of  the  Bishop.  Having,  by  a 
speech  of  singular  power,  put  the  whole  case  before  his 
immense  audience,  he  worked  thorn  up  to  a  state  of  ex- 
traordinary excitement  wnth  the  true  Demosthenic  art, 
puttiiiQ-  to  them  a  series  of  .-.firif^ing  queries,  touching-,  as  it 
were,  the  very  Hfe  of  their  honour.      *  Will  you  stand  by 


t 


A  LESSON  FOR  THE  POUTICIANS. 


485 


m  enthii.siafim, 
ties,  and  vote 
!W  School  Rys- 
ess '  at  best, — 
ii,  as  we  Ikuo 
thus  put  the 


of  party,  or  Ihe 

yeen  the  helph'ss 

All 

f  the  coiiimunity 

dangerous  prin- 

The   question 

? ;   if  you   desert 

.    I  have  been 

;os    presented   to 

bey  may  perliiips 

ih  by  the  sinful 

mon  with    those 

candidates;  and 

f  your  children, 


»ishop  was  as 
t  pride.  But 
md  that  was 
of  all  parties 
daims  jof  the 
abers  of  the 
;ed  and  i:)ro- 
CarroU  Hull, 
more  to  the 
Baving,  by  a 
36  before  his 
state  of  ex- 
osthenic  art, 
ouching,  as  it 
^ou  stand  by 


the  rights  of  your  offspring,  who  have  so  long  suffered 
under  the  operation  of  this  injurious  system?'  'Will 
you  adhere  to  the  nomination  made?'  'Will  you  be 
united  ? '  '  Will  none  of  you  shrink  ?  '  And  ho  thus  con- 
cludes :  'I  ask  then,  once  for  all,  will  this  meeting 
ph'dp  its  honour,  as  the  representative  of  that  oi)pressed 
portion  of  the  community  for  whom  I  have  so  often 
pleaded,    hero   as    elsewhere— will   it  pledge  honour, 

that  it  will  stand  by  these  candidates,  whose  names  have 
been  read,  and  that  no  man  composing  this  vast  audience 
will   ever  vote  for  any  one  pledged  to   oppose   our  just 
claims  and  incontrovertible  rights?'*     The  promise,  made 
with  a  displ  ly  of  feeling  almost  amounting  to  frenzy,  was 
fully  redeemed  ;  and  2,200  votes  recorded  for  the  candidates 
nominated  only  four  days  before,  convinced  the  politicians, 
whose  promises  hitherto  had  been,  as  the  Bishop  said,  as 
large  'as   their  performances  had   been  lean,'  that  there 
was  danger  in  the  Catholics— that,  in  fact,  they  were  no 
longer  to  be  played  with  or  despised.     Notwithstanding 
the  pledges  to  the  contrary,  the  new  system— that  of  the 
Common    Schools— was    carried    in    the    Assembly   by  a 
majority  of  sixty-five  to  sixteen ;  and  the  Senate,  appre- 
hending that    a    similar  attempt  would  be  made   at  an 
approaching  election  for  the  Mayoralty  as  that  which  had 
made  in  the  elections  of  candidates  for  the  Senate  and  the 
Assembly,  passed  the  measure.f 

*  Complete    Worfis    of    Archbishop    Hughes;     Lawrence    Kehoe,    New    York. 
Also  Hassard'a  'Life  of  Archbishop  Hughes,'  published  by  D.  Appleton  and  Co 

J«e\v  York. 

t  Bishop  Bayloy,  in  his    'Brief    Sketch,'  published   by   Edward   Dunipan    and 
Bro  her.  New  York,    thus   refers    to   the   practical   results    of    that   memorable 
contest.    The  Bishop  writes  in  1853  :- 
^  'Experience  has  since  shown  that  the  new  system,  though  administered  with 

as  much  mipartiality  and  fairness  as  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances 
^  IS  one  which,  as  excluding  all  religious  instruction,  is  most  fatal  to  the  morals  and 
^rehgions  principles  of  our  children,  and  thit  our  only  resource  is  to  establish 
^schools  of  our  own,  where  sound  religi(,u.s  instruction  shaU  be  imparted  at  the 
^sarae  tune  with  secular  instruction.      If  we  needed  any  evidence  upon  t)io  matter 

It  «ould  be  found  in  the  conduct  and  behaviour  of  those  of  our  children  who 


186 


THE  IRISH  IN  AiMERICA. 


r3i 


I 


9 


■mmm 


r% 


Fiercely  assailed  by  liis  opponents,  bitterly  denounced 
by   aliirnicd   and  indignant    politicians,    reviled    in    every 
imaginable  manner  by  controversialists  of  tiio  pulpit  and 
the  press,  even  turned  upon  by  the  faint-lien rted  of  his  own 
communion — that   decorous    and   cringing  class,  to  whom 
anything  like  vigour,  or  a  departure  from  rigid  rule,  is  sure 
to  cause  a  shudder  of  the  nerves — the  Bishop  of  New  York 
became,  at  once,  one  of  the  best-abused  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  popular  men  of  the  day.     His  infiuenco  over  the 
Irish  portion  of  his  flock  was  unbounded.     This  flock  was 
rapidly  increasing  through  emigration,  wliicli  was  setting 
strongly  in  from  the  old  country,  then,  for  its  size,  one  of 
the  most  populous  countries  of  Europe.     Bishop  Hughes 
was  just  the  man  to  acquire  influence  over  an  Irish  con- 
gregation.   That  he  himself  was  an  Irishman  was,  of  course, 
no  little  in  sliis  favour  ;   though    there  are,  as  I  am  per- 
sonally aware,  bishops  and  priests  without  a  drop  of  Irish 
blood  in  their  veins,  or  at  best  having  only  some  remote 
connection  with  the  country  which  has  given  so  many  of 
her  children  to  the  American  Church,  who  are  beloved  and 
venerated  by   their  Irish  flocks — who   are   referred  to  in 
language  of  the  warmest  affection,  and  pointed   to   with 
pride,   either    for    their  moral    excellence    or   their   intel- 
lectual endowments.     But  Bishop  Hughes  was  eminently 
quahfied  to  gratify  the  pride  of  a  people  who   found  in 
him  a  fearless,  a  powerful,  and  a  successful  champion — one 
who    was  afraid  of  no  man,  and  who  was  ready,  at  any 
moment,  not  only  to  grapple  with  and  overthrow  the  most 
formidable  opponent,  but  to  encounter  any  odds,  and  fight 
under  every  disadvantage.     In   his    speeches  and  letters* 
their  reader  will  behold  abundant  evidence  of  his  boldness 
in  attack,  his  skill  in  defence,  and  his  severity  in  dealing 

•are  educa'ed  under  the  Christian  Brothers,  when  contrasted  with  those  who  are 
*  exposed  to  the  pernioions  influences  of  a  public  school.' 

*  The  sermons,  letters,  lectures,  and  speeches  of  Archbishop  Hughes  are 
publishod  in  two  flue  vohinies  by  Lawrence  Kehoe,  Nassau-street, -New  York,  by 
whom  they  are  also  edited. 


denounced 
d  ill  every 
I  pulpit  find 

I  of  his  own 
>.s,  to  Avlioni 
rule,  is  sure 
f  New  York 

II  as  one  of 
ICO  over  the 
is  flock  was 
was  settin<^ 
size,  one  ot 

lop  Hughes 
1  Irish  con- 
LS,  of  course, 

I  am  Y)ci'- 
•op  of  Irish 
omo  remote 
so  many  of 
beloved  and 
'erred  to  in 
ed  to  with 
their  intcl- 
s  eminently 
o  found  in 
tnpion — one 
idy,  at  any 
w  the  most 
is,  and  fight 
ind  letters* 
lis  boldness 

in  dealing 

.  those  who  are 

)p    Hughes  are 
;, 'New  York,  by 


THE  RIOTS  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


487 


with  an  enemy,  especially  one  to  "whom  no  quitrter  should 
be  given.  When  the  Bishop  struck,  it  was  with  no  gentle 
or  faltering  hand,  nor  was  his  weapon  a  lath  or  a  blunted 
sword :  he  struck  with  the  strength  of  a  giant,  and  the 
weapon  ho  wielded  was  bright  and  trenchant,  and  never 
failed  tc  pierce  the  armour  of  his  closest-mailed  foe.  AVith 
the  ablest  and  most  practised  writers  of  the  public  press, 
the  most  accomplished  advocates  of  the  bar,  the  subtlest 
controvorsiahsts,  Bishop  Hughes  had  many  a  fair  tilt  in 
the  face  of  an  aj)preciativo  public;  and  none  of  those 
with  whom  he  was  compelled  to  come  into  conflict,  whether 
with  tongue  or  pen,  speech  or  letter,  that  did  not  acknow- 
ledge, or  vas  not  obHged  to  admit,  the  power  of  his  mind, 
the  force  of  his  reasoning,  his  happiness  of  illustration,  and 
his  thorough  mastery  of  the  EngHsh  language.  It  was  not, 
then,  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Irish  of  New  York,  as 
indeed  throughout  the  States,  were  proud  of  their  great 
countryman,  and  looked  up  to  him  with  confidence  and 
affection.  His  influence  over  his  flock  was  not  without 
being  submitted  to  a  severe  test. 


In  1844  the  memorable  riots  of  Philadelphia  occurred. 
It  was  the  old  story  again.  Sectarian  bigotry  and  ignorant 
prejudice  appealed  to  by  reckless  firebrands  and  intriguing 
politicians ;  lies,  calumnies,  and  misrepresentations ;  old 
falsehoods  dug  up  and  furbished  afresh,  and  new  false- 
hoods invented  for  the  occasion ;  clamour  from  the  press, 
the  platform,  and  the  pulpit — with  the  grand  cry  'The 
Bible  in  danger ! — Save  it  from  the  Papists  ! '  The  only 
possible  ground  of  this  affected  alarm  for  the  Bible  was 
the  simple  fact  that  the  Catholics  required  that  when  their 
children  were  compelled  to  read  the  Bible  in  the  Public 
Schools,  it  should  be  the  recognised  Catholic  version  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  not  the  Protestant  version.  But  the 
world  knows  how  easy  it  is  to  get  up  a  cry,  and  how  it  is 


,  ?-< 


438 


TUE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA 


oftentimes  tho  more  effective  when  based  on  entire  false- 
hood.     Add,  then,  to  this  dishonest  cry,  imreasonin-  hatred 
of    the   foreigner,    the   bitter    hostihty   tc»    the   foreigner's 
creed,  and  you  have  the  combustibles,  which  only  required 
a  nmtc!i  and  au  ojiportunity,  in  order  to  ensure  an  explo- 
sioii.    AfHl  n,  f  -rriblo  and  savage  explosion  of  human  passion 
it  was,  scattering  confusion  and  death  through  one  of  the 
fairest  cities  of    the  Union,  and   casting  discredit   on   its 
boasted  civihsation.     There  was  a  '  Protestant  Association  ' 
at  its  vicious  work  in   those   days,   and   among  its  most 
active  members    were   Irishmen,   who  had  brought  with 
them  across  the  ocean  the  old  fierce  spirit  of  Orangeism 
which  so  far  bhnded  their  reason  and  stilled  their  sense  of 
honour,  that  they  were  not  ashamed  then,  as  on  subsequent 
occasions,   to  join   with   the  Native  American  and  Know 
Nothing  party,  in  their  mad  crusade  against  the  'foreigner' 
—that  foreigner  their  own  countryman  !     During  the^iots 
the   Orange   flag,    the    symbol  of   fraternal  strife  in   the 
old  land,  in  whicli  its  children  should  leave  behind  them 
their  wicked  animosities,  was  displayed  during  the  shame- 
ful  riots  of  1844.*      Where  there  was  anything  like  the 
semblance  of  an  organisation  for  defence,  the  Irish  Catho- 
hcs  displayed  a  courage  worthy  of  their  cause ;   but  the 
means  of  resistance  were  not  sufficient,  nor  were  they  taken 
m  time,  and  the  result  is  thus  described  in  the  words  of  • 
an  excellent  EpiscopaHan  clergyman,  who  felt,  with  poio- 
nant  shame,  the  dishonour  cast  by  national  prejudice  and 
brutal  fanaticism  upon  his  beautiful  city.     The  author  of 
the  '  Olive  Branch '  thus  sums  up  the  wicked  deeds  of  the 
rioters : — 

„th.,'.  Kr^'V*""'  ''^"'''  ^^'"''''  '"  "''""  foreigners,  yet  Irish  Orangemen,  an.l 
ot  1...  hitt^vfore.ffn  enemies  of  Catholicity,  were  among  its  most  conspicuous  an.l 
a.^t.yP  nu.mbers.  A  dirty  Orange  flag  was  placed  on  the  top  of  the  market-hou.o 
lunng  the  Kensmgton  (Philadelphia,  riots;  the  viuleut  Orange  air.  "The  Boyno 
\Nat<.r  w:,s  played  in  triumph,  while  the  flames  were  consuming  St  Micliacra 
Chm-ch  :  and  a  notorious  Orangeman  was  actually  paraded  through  the  streets 
o    Philadelphia,  mjhe   "temple  of  liberty,"  which  was  carried  in  procession  on 

plrfv  .  T,    A  "kk,7'"'o  ^",  ""''''*'  °''  ''^**  PixiladelpVia  itiota  and  naUve  American 
Party/  by  Archbishop  Spalding. 


THE  NATIVE  AMEIIICAN  PARTY. 


43» 


m 


entire  fnlse- 
)iiin^'  hatred 
I  foioigiier'H 
dy  required 
•0  an  exjilo- 
niiin  i)u,SHiou 
one  of  the 
edit   on   its 
issociution ' 
ig  its  most 
ought   with 
Orangeism, 
iir  sense  of 
subsequent 
and  Know 
'  foreigner ' 
ig  the  riots 
rife   in   the 
chind  them 
the  shame- 
ig  like  the 
rish  Catho- 
e ;   but  the 
they  taken 
e  words  of  • 
with  poig- 
judice  and 
author  of 
eds  of  the 


angemen,  and 
QHpicnous  and 
market-hoiisQ 
"The  Boyno 
f  St.  Michacl'a 
;h  the  streeta 
procession  on 
live  American 


The  nntlve  American  party  Ima  ex'iHtcil  for  a  period  liardly  reach. 
inc:  five  moritliH,  and  in  that  time  of  it.s  beinp,  wljat  has  been  seen? 
Two  Catholic  churches  l)urnt,  one  tiiricc  lired  and  desecniled,  a 
C'ltliolic  Heminary  and  retreat  consumed  by  tin;  torches  of  an  ineeii- 
iliary  mob.  two  rectories  and  a  most  valuable  library  destroyed,  forty 
dwellings  in  ruins,  about foriy  human  lives  sacriliced,  and  sixty  of  oui 
iMlow  citizens  wounded;  riot,  and  rebellion,  and  treason,  ranij  uit,  on 
two  occasions,  in  our  midst;  the  laws  srt  boldly  at  dellance,  and  peace 
and  onler  prostrated  by  rullian  violence. 

From  an  article  on  •  Th(>  rhiljidelphia  lliots  and  the 
Native  Ameriean  Party,' written  by  Archbishop  Spalding, 
tliis  extract  may  be  quoted  : — 

For  more  than  ten  years  j)r(!viously  the  '  No-Popery '  cry  had  l)een 
ruis(,l,  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other;  from  the  cold  and 
puritanical  Norlli,  to  the  warm  and  chivalrous  S(.uth.  Tlu-  outcry 
resounded  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press;  its  notes  were  rierc(!  and 
naf)jj;uinary ;  they  were  worthy  of  the  piilmiost  days  of  Titus  Gates 
luid  Lord  George  Go  Ion,  both  immortal  for  the  relentless  and  burn- 
ing hatred  they  bore  lo  their  Christian  Itretliren  of  the  liomati 
Catholic  Church.  Can  we  wondei-,  then,  that  it  produced  similar 
results?  When  we  reflect  how  long  that  bitter  outcry  continued; 
how  talented,  and  influential,  and  untiring  were  many  of  tho.sc  engaged 
in  raising  it;  how  many  different  forms  and  complexions  it  assumed 
—now  boasting  of  its  zeal  for  the  purity  of  religion,  now  parading  lis 
policitude  for  the  preservation  of  our  noble  republican  institutions 
threatened  with  destruction  by  an  insidious  foreign  influence ;  when 
we  reflect  how  very  unscrupulous  were  the  moa  engaged  in  this 
crusade  against  Catholicity,  how  many  glaring  untruths  they  boldly 
published  both  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  how  many  base  forgeries 
—  subsequently  admitted  to  be  such-  they  unblushingly  perpei rated 
in  the  full  light  of  day,  and  with  the  iiaelligence  of  tho  nineteenth 
century  beaming  in  their  faces ;  when  we  reflect  that  all  this  warfare 
against  Catholics  was  openly  conducted  by  a  well-concerted  action  and 
a  regular  conspiracy  among  almost  all  the  rich  and  powx'rful  Protes- 
tant ;cts  of  the  country,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  crushing  a  par- 
ticular denomination ;  and  that  this  conspiracy  was  kept  alive  by 
synodical  enactments,  by  I'rotestant  associations,  and  by  the  untiring 
energy  and  relentless  zeal  of  perhaps  the  richest  and  most  powerful 
sect  in  the  country,  which  ever  appeared  as  the  leader  of  the  move- 
ment :■— when  wx>  reflect  on  all  these  undoubted  tacts,  can  we  be  any 
longer  surprised  at  the  fearful  scenes  which  lately  set  the  stigma  of 
everlasting  di.^graee  on  the  second  city  of  the  Uuion?* 

•  Miacdlaiiea :     comprising    Eeviews,    Lectures,     and    Essays,    on    Historical, 


I 


440 


THE  IlilSU  IN  AMKllICA. 


^1 


A  stranrro  oommcntftvy  on  thin  ficrco  lioHtiliiy  and  deadly 
Btrifo  dooH  th«  poHition  of  tho  Church  in  Pliiludclphia  olltT 
to-day.  As  many  as  fivo-and-twonty  cliurchcH,  croNvdcd 
with  devout  (•,ongro<,aitionH  ;  nol)lo  inHtitutionH  of  every 
diHcription,  and  intended  to  minister  to*overy  want;  a 
Cuthodral  of  unrivalled  gnmdeur  and  beiuity,  reminding 
one  much  of  St.  Peter's  ;  a  vast  and  ordc^rly  flock,  rising 
every  day  in  indei)endenco  and  in  wealtli  ;  and,  to  crown 
all,  a  learned  and  jiious  Bishoi),  who  had  been  a  Protestant ! 
Persecution  is  not  a  wise  game  for  those  who  pliiy  it ;  for 
it  almost  invariably  happens  that  the  pers(!cuted  have  the 
best  of  it  in  the  long  run.     So  does  Providence  dispose. 


Flushed  with  their  unholy  triumphs  of  church-burning, 
conveiii-wrecking,  and  house-pilliiging,  a  chosen  band  of' 
tho  Philad(!lphi{i  rioters  were  to  be  welcomed  with  a  public 
procession  by  their  sympathisers  of  New  York  ;  but  the 
stern  attitude  of  the  Catholics,  obedient  to  tho  voice  and 
amenable  to  the  authority  of  their  Bishop,  dismayed  tho 
cowardly  portion  of  their  enemies,  and  taught  even  the 
boldest  that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valour. 

It  was  not  the  first  time  that  the  Catholics  of  New  York 
had  taken  a  firm  stand  against  the  frenzy  of  the  'No- 
Popery  '  faction.  Shortly  after  the  burning  of  the  convent 
in  Boston,  there  was  an  attempt  made  to  destroy  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral.  But  tho  church  was  put  in  a  state 
of  defence  ;  '  the  streets  leading  to  it  were  torn  up,  and 
every  window  was  to  be  a  point  whence  missiles  could  be 
thrown  on  tho  advancing  horde  of  sacrilegious  wretches; 
while  the  wall  of  the  churchyard,  rudely  constructed, 
bristled  with  tlie  muskets  of  those  ready  for  the  last 
struggle  for  the  altar  of  their  God  and  the  graves  of  those 
they    loved.     So   fearful  a   preparation,   unknown   to  the 


Thpological,  and  Miscellaneous  Pnbjects.  by  51.  S.  SDalding,  D.D  ,   4.vcLbf=hf!"  nt 
Ualtimwio,    Pubiisiied  by  John  Murphy  aud  Co.,  Baltimore.  ' 


TIIR  nrSHOP  AND  THE  MAYOR. 


441 


)•  and  deadly 
Iclpliia  oH'or 
08,  crowded 
118  of  every 
!ry  want ;  a 
',  reminding 

flock,  rising,' 
id,  to  crown 

Protestant ! 

l»lay  it ;  for 
I'd  have  the 

d  ispose. 


ch-burninp, 
en  band  (>f 
ith  a  public 
•k  ;  but  the 

0  voice  and 
smayed  tlio 
it  even  the 
lour. 

1  New  York 
f  the  'No- 
he  convent 
destroy  St. 
;  in  a  state 
rn  up,  and 
es  could  be 
3  wretches; 
ionstructed, 
Dr  the  last 
'es  of  those 
iwn   to  the 


Arclibislio^ 


n£ 


enemies. of  relipion,  came  upon  them  like  a  thunderclap, 
when  their  van  had  lu^arly  reached  the  street  leading,'  to 
the  Cathedral  :  they  thnl  in  all  directions  in  dismay.*  * 

A  meeting  of  the  Native  Americans  of  New  York  was 
called  in  the  City  Hall  Park,  to  give  a  suitable  reception 
to  their  brethren  from  Phila.hslphia.  The  thne  for  action 
had  thus  arrived.  Bishoji  Hughes  had  made  it  known 
through  the  columns  of  the  Frceman'a  Journal ;\  then  under 
his  entire  control,  that  the  scenes  of  Philadeli)hia  should 
not  be  renewed  with  impunity  in  New  York  ;  and  he  wam 
known  to  have  said— in  reply  to  a  priest  who,  having 
(escaped  from  Philadel])hia,  advised  him  to  publish  an 
adcb-ess,  urging  the  Catholi(!s  to  keep  the  peace— *  If  a 
single  Catholic  church  were  burned  in  New  York,  the  city 
would  become  a  second  Moscow.'  There  was  no  mistaking 
his  spirit  and  that  of  his  Hock— excepting,  of  course,  th.e 
^good  cautious  souls  who,'  as  the  Bishop  wrote,  'believe 
in  stealing  through  the  world  more  su])missively  than  suits 
a  freeman.'  The  churches  were  guarded  by  a  sufficient 
force  of  men,  resolved  to  die  in  their  defence,  but  also 
resolved  to  make  their  assailants  feel  the  weight  of  their 
vengeance.  By  an  extra  issue  of  the  Freeman,  the  Bishop 
warned  the  Irish  to  keep  away  from  all  pubHc  mcietings, 
especially  that  to  be  held  in  the  Park.  He  then  called 
11]  on  the  Mayor,  and  advised  him  to  prevent  the  proposed 
demonstration. 

'Are  you  afraid,'  asked  the  Mayor,  '  that  some  of  your 
churches  will  be  burned  ? '  . 

•  No,  sir  ;  but  I  am  afraid  that  some  of  yours  will  bo 
l)urned.  We  can  protect  our  own.  I  come  to  warn  you 
fur  your  own  good.' 

'  Do  jou  think.  Bishop,  that  your  people  would  attack 
the  procession  ? '  ' 

Gilm^v^vw^''^^^,  ^'^''r}'  '"   "'°   F"'**"^   ^*"*''«'  ^y  "e^i-y  ^^e  Courcey  and  .John 
Ui|mar>  Shea.     Kchvavd  I  luniKan  aiul  Brother,  New  York 


m 


!■ 
■t 


442 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■V'* 


*  I  (To  not,  but  tlie  native  Americans  want  to  provoke  a 
Catholic  riot,  and  if  they  can  do  it  in  no  other  way,  I 
believe  they  would  not  scrui)le  to  attack  the  procession 
themselves,  for  the  sake  of  making  it  appear  that  the 
Catholics  had  assailed  them.' 

*  What,  then,  would  you  have  me  do  ?  ' 

*  I  did  not  come  to  tell  you  what  to  do.  I  am  a  church- 
man, not  the  Mayor  of  New  York  ;  but  if  I  w^ere  the 
Mayor,  I  wxmld  examine  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  see  if 
there  were  not  attached  to  the  police  force  a  battery  of  ar- 
tillery, and  a  company  or  so  of  infantry,  and  a  squacbon  of 
horse ;  and  I  think  I  should  find  that  there  were  ;  and  if 
so,  I  should  call  them  out.  Moreover,  I  should  send  to  Mr, 
Harper,  the  Mayor-elect,  who  has  been  chosen  by  the  votes 
of  this  party.  I  should  remind  him,  that  these  men  are 
his  supporters  ;  I  should  warn  him,  that  if  they  carry  out 
their  design,  there  wiU  be  a  riot ;  and  I  should  urge  him 
to  use  his  influence  in  preventing  this  pubHc  reception  of 
the  delegates.'  * 

There  was  no  demonstration.  And  every  right-minded 
man,  every  lover  of  peace  in  the  city,  must  have  applauded 
the  course  taken  by  Dr.  Hughes,  to  whose  prudent  firmness 
was  mainly  attributable  the  fact  that  New  York  was  saved 
from  riot,  bloodshed,  murder,  and  sacrilege,  and,  above  all, 
from  that  dreadful  feehng  of  unchristian  hate  between  man 
and  ma^,  citizen  and  citizen,  neighbour  and  neighbour, 
which  such  collisions  are  certain  for  years  after  to  leave 
rankling  in  the  breast  of  a  community. 


We  come  now  to  the  year  1852,  and  witness  the  gigantic 
stride  which  the  Church  has  made  since  1833,  when  ten 
bishops  met  at  the  First  Council  of  Baltimore.  Irish  and 
German   CathoHcs    had    been    pouring    into    the   United 


Ilassard's  Life  of  Archbishop  Hughea.    D.  Appleton  aad  Co.,  New  York. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


443 


provoke  a 
ler  way,  I 

procession 
:   that   tho 


a  churcli- 

were   the 

and  see  if 

tery  of  ar- 

[uadi-on  of 

L"e  ;  and  if 

Dnd  to  Mr, 

J  the  votes 

3  men  are 

'  carry  out 

urge  him 

jeption  of 

lit-mindod 
ipplauded 
t  firmness 
was  saved 
above  all, 
ween  man 
leighbour, 
L'  to  leave 


States  by  hundreds  of  thousands  ;  and  the  200  Catholics  of 
New  York  in  1785,  and  the  35,000  of  1829,  had  become 
200,000  in  1852.  Instead  of  the  one  archbishop,  and  ten 
bishops,  of  1833,  there  were  now  six  archbishops,  and 
twenty-six  bishoi^s;  while  the  number  of  priests,  which 
was  about  300  in  1833,  had  now  increased  to  1385,  with 
churches  and  stations  in  proportion.  We  shall  see  how 
this  advance,  great  and  hopeful  as  it  was,  has  been  far 
exceeded  by  the  i)rogress  made  in  the  short  space  of  the 
next  fourteen  years. 

Writing  of  the  city  of  New  York  of  1853,  Bishop 
Bayley — then  Secretary  to  Archbishop  Hughes — says  : — 
'No  exertions  could  have  kept  pace  with  the  tide  of 
emigration  which  has  been  pouring  in  upon  our  shores. 
The  number  of  priests,  churches,  and  schools,  rapidly  as 
they  have  increased,  are  entirely  inadequate  to  the  wants 
of  our  Catholic  population,  and  render  it  imperative  that 
every  exertion  shoukl  be  made  to  supply  the  deficiency.' 
Something  of  the  same  kind  might  be  said  of  18G7,  though 
the  means  are  now  proportionately  greater  than  they  were 
fifteen  years  before,  not  in  New  York  alone,  but  throughout 
tho  TJnited  States.  Convents,  hospitals,  asylums,  schools, 
were  thsn,  in  1853,  rapi^Uy  on  the  increase,  the  Rehgioua 
Orders  spreading  their  branches  and  estabhshing  their 
houses  whenever  there  was  a  chance  of  their  bare  support, 
and  often,  too,  braving  privations  similar  to  those  which 
Mrs.  Se ton's  infant  community  endured  at  Emmettsburg 
and  at  Philadelphia  in  the  early  days  of  their  existence. 


5  gigantic 
when  ten 
Irish  and 
e   United 


jw  York. 


Hi 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


.«», 


J 

m 


The  Know  NoUiinp:  Movement— Jealousy  of  the  Forcignor— 
Kuow  Nothings  indilfcioiit  to  Religion— beinocriilic  Oratora— 
'ten  at  the  Altar  and  in  the  Pulpit— Almost  Incrediblo— 
•  le  Infeniui  Miscreant— A  Strange  Confession. 


THE  KNOW  NOTHING  movement  of  1854  and  1855 
troubleil  the  peace  of  Catholics,  and  tilled  the  hearts 
of  foreign-boiii  American  citizens  with  sorrow  and  indigna- 
tion. They  were  made  the  victims  of  rampant  bigotry  and 
furious  political  partisanship.  There  was  nothing  now  in 
this  Know  Nothingism.  It  was  as  old  as  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  being  Native  Americanism  under  another  name. 
Its  animating  spirit  was  hostility  to  the  stranger — insane 
jealousy  of  the  foreigner.  It  manifested  itself  in  the 
Convention  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  though  the  right  to  frame  that  Constitution  had 
been  largely  gained  through  the  valour  of  adopted  citizens, 
born  in  foreign  countries,  and  through  the  aid  and  assist- 
ance of  a  foreign  nation.  It  manifested  itself  in  the  year 
1796,  in  laws  passed  during  the  Administration  of  President 
Adams,  a  narrow-minded  nian,  much  prejudiced  against 
foreigners.  The  Alien  Act,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
striking  results  of  the  illiberal  spirit  of  that  day,  provided 
— '  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be,  and 
is  hereby  authorised,  in  any  event  aforesaid,  by  his  pro- 
cJamatioii  thereof,  or  other  public  act,  to  direct  the  con- 
duct to  be  observed,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
towards   Aliens  ....  the  manner  and  degree  of  the  re- 


oignor — 
h-iitora — 
•edible— 


.ind  1855 
the  hearts 
(I  iiiclig'na- 
igotry  and 
ng  new  in 
ime  of  the 
ther  name, 
er — insane 
;lf  in  the 
he  United 
ution  had 
)d  citizens, 
md  assist- 
i  the  year 

President 
id   against 

the  most 
,  jDrovidevl 
ill  be,  and 
y  his  pro- 

the  con- 
ed States, 
of  the  re- 


JEALOUSY  OF  THE  FOREIGNER. 


415 


straint  to  .vhich  they  shall  be  subjected,  and  in  what 
cases,  and  upon  what  security  their  residence  shall  bo 
poruiitted,  and  to  provide  for  the  removal  of  those  who, 
not  being  permitted  to  reside  in  the  United  States,  shall 
refuse  or  neglect  to  depart  therefrom.'  Here  was  a  despo- 
tism marvellously  inconsistent  with  the  object  and  purpose 
of  the  struggle  which  secured  freedom  and  independence 
to  the  revolted  colonies  of  England !  Here  also  was  folly 
bordering  upon  madness,  in  discouraging  that  great  ex- 
ternal resource,  through  which  alone  the  enormous  terri- 
tory even  then  comprehended  within  the  limits  of  the 
Union  could  be  populated  and  civilised— namely,  tlic 
foreign  element— those  impelled,  through  various  '^causef, 
and  motives,  to  cross  tl.  jcean,  and  make  their  liome  in 
America.  Eemembering  the  history  of  the  last  fifty 
years,  during  which  thousands,  hundreds  of  thousands, 
nay  milhons  of  the  population  of  Europe  have  been  spread- 
ing themselves  over  the  vast  American  continent,  building 
up  its  cities,  penetrating  and  subduing  its  forests,  re- 
claiming its  wastes,  constructing  its  great  works,  develop- 
ing its  resources,  multiplying  its  population— in  a  word, 
making  America  what  she  is  at  thijs  d.ay— one  does  not 
know  whether  to  laugh  at  the  absurdity  of  those  who 
imagined  that,  without  injury  to  the  future  of  the  States, 
tliey  might  bar  their  ports  to  emigrants  from  foreign 
countries  ;  or  doubt  the  sanity  of  those  who  could  delil^e- 
rately  proclaim,  as  the  Hartford  Convention  of  1812  did— 
'That  the  stock  of  population  already  in  these  States  is 
'  amply  sufficient  to  render  this  nation  in  due  time  suffi- 
'  ciently  great  and  powerful,  is  not  a  controvertible  ques- 
'  tion.'  *  Certainly  not  controvertible  to  vanity  and  folly, 
which  were  stimulated  l)y  absurd  jealousy  and  causeless 
apprehension.  The  generous  men  who  assembled  at  Hart- 
ford were  willing  to  'offer  the  rights  of  hospitality'  to  the 
strangers,  under  such  conditions  as  those  imposed  in  the 

•  For  the  disproof  of  this  absiu'd  boast,  see  Appendix. 


I 


446 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


1 


'■'^  i* 


Alien  Act  ;  but  they  took  care  to  rcsirict  their  munificence 
to    such   fair   hmits  as  would  secure  nil  the  honours  and 
emoluments  to  themselves.     Thus:    ' No  person  who  shall 
hereafter  be  naturalised  shaU  be  eligible  as  a  member  of 
the   Senate   or   House   of  Kepresentatives   of  the   United 
States,  nor  capable  of  holding  any  office  unoler  the  autho- 
rity of  the  United  States.'     The  Alien  and  Sedition  laws 
passed   m  the  Administration   of   Adams,  were   repealed' 
fourteen  years  afterwards,  by  the  Jefferson  Administration.' 
These  laws  were  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  the  American 
Constitution  ;  and  in  opposing  such  laws,  and  confronting 
the  narrow  and  ungrateful  policy  in  which  they  originated 
Jefferson  and  Madison  were  simply  treading  in  the  broad 
footprints  of  the  illustrious  Washington. 

This   hostility  to    the  foreigner,  intensified  by  relio-ious 
prejudice,  exhibited  itself    on    various   occasions-notably 
m  the  disgraceful  riots  of  1844  ;  but  on  no  occasion  was 
the   feelmg    so   universal,  or  its  display  so  marked,  as  in 
the  years   1854  and   1855,   when    the    banner    of    Know 
Nothmgism  was  made  the  symbol  of  political  supremacy. 
Here  was  every  element  necessary  to  a  fierce  and  relentless 
strife.     The  Constitution  of  Know  Nothingism  was  anom- 
alously adopted  on  the  17th  of  June,  1854,  the  anniversary 
of  the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.      Strange,  that  a  day  sacred 
to  the  freedom  of  America  should  be  that  on  which  citizens 
of  a  free  repubhc  should  plot  in  the  dark  against  the  hber- 
ties  of  their  feUow  men.     But  so  it  was.     A  very  few  ex- 
tracts from  authentic  documents  will  declare  the  motives 
and  objects  of  this  organisation  :— - 


Article  II. 

A  person  to  become  a  member  of  any  subordinate  council  musl 
be  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  he  must  believe  in  the  existence  cf  a 
hupreme  Being  as  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  Universe  •  he 
must  be  a  native-born  citizen ;  a  Protestant,  born  of  ProteJtant 
parents^  reared  under  Protestant  influence,  and  not  united  in  marriaffo 
with  a  Roman  Catholic,  &c..  «fcc.,  &c. 


THE  KNOW  NOTHING  INDIFFERENT  TO  RELIGION.      447 


aunifieence 
'nours  and 
L  who  shall 
lember  of 
lie   United 
;he  autho- 
ition  laws, 
repealed, 
nistration. 
American 
^nfronting 
)riginated, 
the  broad 

■  religious 
' — notably 
asion  was 
i:ed,  as  in 
of    Know 
ipremacy. 
relentless 
as  anom- 
niversary 
ay  sacred 
!i  citizens 
the  hber- 
'  few  ex- 
3  motives 


ancil  must 
tence  of  a 
verse ;  he 
Protestant 
I  marriage 


Article  III. 

Sec.  1.  T!  J  object  of  this  organisation  shall  be  to  resist  the  In- 
sidious policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  other  foreign  influence 
against  the  institutions  of  our  -ountry,  by  placing  in  all  oifices  in  the 
gift  of  the  people,  or  by  appointment,  none  but  native-born  Protestant 
citizens. 

The  Know  Nothing  oath— for  the  society  was  not  only 
secret,  but  bound  by  oaths — was  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  foregoing.  It  was  comprehensive  as  well  as 
precise,  as  the  following  will  show  : — 

You  furthermore  promi.se  and  declare  that  you  will  not  vote  nor 
give  your  influence  for  any  man  for  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
unless  he  be  an  American-born  citizen,  in  favour  of  Americans  ruling 
America,  nor  if  he  he  a  Boman  Catholic. 

You  solemnly  and  sincerely  swear,  that  if  it  maj  L«  legally,  you 
will,  when  elected  to  any  office,  remove  all  foreigne'  s  and  Roman 
Catholics  from  office;  and  that  you  will  in  no  case  appoint  such  to 
office. 

Many  who  joined  this  organisation  had  not  the  excuse, 
the  bad  excuse,  of  fanaticism  for  their  conduct.  Lust  of 
power  was  their  ruling  passion  ;  to  trample  their  oppo- 
nents under  fcot,  and  secure  everything  to  themselves, 
their  animating  motive.  If  they  could  have  attained  their 
ends  through  the  Catnoi.2  body,  they  would  have  emp-loyed 
every  art  of  wile  and  seduction  in  the  hope  of  securing 
their  co-operation  ;  but  as  they  dee-jed  it  more  to  their 
advantage  to  assail  and  blacken  tlie  Catholicn,  they  ac- 
co  Jungly  did  assail  and  blacken  them  to  the  satisfaction  of 
their  dupes.  For  rehgion— any  form  of  religion— they 
did  not  care  a  centr ;  probably  they  regarded  it  as  so  much 
venerable  superstition  and  priestcraft — a  very  excellent 
ihing  f-^-  women  and  persons  of  weak  mind,  but  not  for 
men  ,  l  any  rate,  men  of  their  enlightenment.  Tvlembers- 
of  no  congregation,  these  defenders  of  the  faith  never 
'darkened  the  door '  of  a  church  or  meeting-house,  and 
save,  like  the  sailor  wJio  did  not  know  of  what  rehgion  he 
was,  but  was  '  d d  sure  he  was  not  a  Papist,'  entertain- 


v.-^ 


448 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


mmf 


:9 


iiig  a  l)lind  prejudice  against  Catholicity,  they  were  as  igno- 
rant  of  Christian  behef  as  any  savage  of  Central  Africa. 

Happily  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  common  sense,  there 
were  in  those  days  men  bold  enough  to  lash  hypocrisy  and 
humbug.  Henry  A.  AVise,  of  Virginia,  was  one  of  those 
bold  defenders  of  the  iiuth,  and  nnmaskers  of  fraud. 
His  speeches,  when  canvassing  his  State  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  for  the  office  of  Governor,  which  he  won  gallantly, 
are  full  of  the  most  stinging  rebukes  of  his  opi^nents, 
whom  he  defeated  in  argument  as  well  as  in  votes.  In 
his  remarkable  speech  at  Alexandria,  he  thus  hit  off 
the  religious  pretensions  of  many  of  this  class  of  Know 
Nothings,  who  affected  a  new-born  interest  in  the 
Bible  :— 

They  not  only  appeal  to  the  religious  element,  but  they  raise  a  cry 
about  the  Pope.  These  men.  many  of  whom  are  neither  Episcopalians, 
Presbyurians,  Baptists,  :Methodists,  Congregationalists,  Lutherans,  or 
what  not— who  are  men  of  no  religion,  who  have  no  church,  who  (lo 
not  say  their  prayers,  who  flo  not  read  their  Bible,  who  live  God- 
defying  lives  every  day  of  their  existence,  are  now  seen  with  faces  as 
long  as  their  dark-lanterns,  with  the  whites  of  their  ejx's  turned  up 
in  holy  fear  lest  the  Bible  should  be  shut  up  by  the  Pope!  Men  who 
were  never  known  before,  on  the  face  of  God's  earth,  to  show  any 
interest  in  religion,  to  take  any  part  with  Christ  or  His  Kingdom, 
who  were  the  devil's  own,  ])elonging  to  the  devil's  church,  are,  all  of 
a  sudden,  deeply  interested  for  the  word  of  God,  and  against  the 
Pope!  It  would  be  well  for  them  that  they  joined  a  church  which 
does  beliovo  in  the  Father,  and  in  the  Son,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

As  a  further  specimen  of  the  manner  of  this  famous 
Democrat,  another  passage  may  be  quoted  from  the  same 
speech.  He  now  desires  to  show  the  religion  of  the' party, 
as  defined  by  their  Constitution,  according  to  which  one 
of  the  quahiications  of  membership  is  mere  belief  in  the 
existence  of  '  a  Supreme  Being '  : — 

No  CIrist  acknowledged!  NcSaviour  of  mankind!  No  Holy 
Ghost!  No  heavenly  Dove  of  Grace!  Go,  go,  you  Know  Nothings, 
to  the  city  of  Balt'moie,  and  in  a  certain  street  there  you  will  seo 
two  churches:  one  is  inscribed,  'O  Monos  Theos'— 'to  the  one  God:' 


DEMOCRATIC  ORATORS. 


449 


;re  as  igno- 
Africa, 
ense,  there 
)ocrisy  and 
le  of  those 

of  fraud, 
l^emocratic 

gallantly, 
3pix)nents, 
votes.  In 
IS   hit   off 

of  Know 
t    in     the 


raise  a  cry 
piscopallans, 
nthorans,  or 
rch,  who   (lo 

0  live  God- 
atli  faces  as 

1  turned  up 
!  Men  who 
3  show  any 
s  Kingdom, 
1,  are,  all  of 
against  the 

lurch  which 
host. 

is  famous 
the  same 
the' party, 
vhich  one 
ief  in  the 


No  Holy 

w  Nothings, 

3U  will  seo 

one  God :  • 


on  the  other  is  the  inscription.  'As  for  us,  wo  preach  Christ  crucified 
—  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  tlie  (Jreek;;  foolishness.' 
Tlie  one  inscribed,  'O  Monos  Theos '  is  the  Unitarian  cliurch  ;  the 
other,  inscribed,  •  We  preach  Christ  crucified '  is  the  Catliolic  cliurch ! 
Is  it  — I  ask  of  Presbyterians,  Episcopalians,  Methodists,  and  Bap- 
tists—is it,  I  ask,  for  any  orthodox  Trinitarian  Christian  Church  to 
join  an  association  that  is  inscribed,  like  the  Unitarian  church  at 
Baltimore,  -O  Monos  Theos'  — to  the  one  God?  Is  it  for  them  to 
join  or  countenance  an  association  that  «o  lays  its  religion  as  to  catch 
men  Hive  Tiieodoro  I'arker  an('  James  Freeman  Clarke?  I  put  it  to 
all  the  religious  societies  — to  the  Presbyterians,  the  Ei)iscopalians, 
the  .Alethodists,  and  the  Baptists— whether  they  mean  to  renounce  the 
divinity  of  Christ  and  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  they 
give  countenance  to  this  secret  society,  which  is  inscribed  '  to  Hie 
one  God?' 

A  rebuke,  milder  in  tone,  and  beautiful  as  a  picture, 
may  be  taken  from  a  speech  delivered  at  Richmond  by 
Senator  E,  M.  T.  Hunter  during  the  Know  Notliing  cam- 
paign : — 

But,  fellow-citizens.  I  went  a  little  too  far  when  I  said  it  was  pro 
posed  to  proscribe  Catholics  for  all  offices  in  this  country.  There  are 
some  ofTices  which  the  sous  and  daughters  of  that  Chnrch  are  still 
considered  competent  to  discharge.  I  mean  the  offices  of  Christian 
charity,  of  ministration  to  the  side.  The  Sister  of  Charity  may  enter 
yonder  pest-house,  from  whose  dread  portals  the  bravest  and  strongest 
man  quails  and  shrinks;  she  may  breathe  there  the  breath  of  the 
pestilence  that  walks  abroad  in  that  mansion  of  misery,  in  order  '.o 
minister  to  disease  where  it  is  most  loathsome,  and  to  relieve  suffering 
where  it  is  most  helpless.  T}ifi'e,  too,  the  tones  of  her  voice  may  bo 
heard  mingling  with  the  last  accents  of  human  despair,  to  sootlie  the 
fainting  soul,  as  she  points  through  the  gloom  of  the  dark  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  to  the  Cro.ss  of  Christ,  which  stands  transfigured 
in  celestial  light,  to  bridge  the  w^ay  from  earth  to  heaven.  And  when 
cliolera  or  yellow  fever  invades  your  cities,  the  Catholic  Priest  may 
refuse  to  take  refuge  in  flight,  holding  the  place  of  the  true  Soldier  of 
the  Cross  to  be  by  the  sick  man's  bed,  even  though  death  pervades 
tlie  air,  because  he  may  there  tender  the  ministrations  of  his  holy 
office  lo  those  who  need  them  most. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  frenzy  that  seemed  to 
possess  a  certain  portion  of  the  American  people,  whose 
strongest  passions    and  most  cherished  prejudices  were 


I 


450 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMEIirCA. 


C9 


mm 


1 


4> 
J! 


r^  im 


tmr- 


slimuliitca  by  iippeula   from  tlio  press  nnd  <ho   platior 
the  pii]i)it,  iiiul  the  street  tab.     It  seized 


on  eoiiiinniiities 
insanity. 


uiul  individuals  as  a  species  of  anc()ntrollal>lo 
Bitten  by  the  madness  of  the  moment,  accpiaintance  turned 
savan-c^y  on  acquaintance,  friend  npon  friend,  even  relative 
upon  relative.  The  kindly  feelings  which  it  took  years 
to  cement  were  rudely  torn  asunder  and  traniphnl  under 
foot.  The  Irish  Oatliolic  was  the  clii(d"  ol)ject  of  attack. 
He  was  guilty  of  the  double  crime  of  being  an  Irish- 
man and  a  Catholic  ;  and,  to  do  him  justice,  he  was  as 
ready  to  proclaim  his  faith  as  to  boast  of  his  nativity. 
His  enemies  were  many,  his  fri(mds  few,  his  defenders  less. 
Poor  Pat  had  indeed  a  sad  time  of  it. 

That    the    religious    fe(.>lijig    added    bitterness    to    the 
national  pri^judice  was  nnide  manif(\st  by  the  unreasoning 
fury  of  thosQ   who   combiiKul   hoih    antipathies    in    their 
hostility.     J'^itlier,    however,  was   quite  suilicient  to  swell 
the  outcry  and  deepen  Uw.  hatred  against  its  unoll'endhig 
objects.     Thus  the  religious  prt>judico  was  so  bitter,  and 
so   violent,    that  it   jirevailed   against   identity   of  nation- 
ality;  and  the  national  prejudice  was  so  envenomed  that 
religious  synq)athy  could  scarcely  restrain  its  exhibition, 
and  could  not  prevent  its  existence.     It  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  the  genuine  Irish  Orangeman  sided  with  the 
persecutors  of  liis  Catholic  countrymen ;  and  his  conduct 
on  many  occasions  w^as  a  sufficient  evidence  of  his  unnatu- 
ral ferocity.      Many  Irish    Protestants,    not    Orangemen, 
gave  countenance  to  the  Know  Nothings,  though,  accord- 
ing  to   the   Know^   Nothing   code,   none    but   native-born 
Protestants   were   held    to    be    eligible   for   any  office   or 
l)osition  in  tlie  gift  of  the  peoj^le,  whether  by  election  or 
appointment.     The  shabby  conduct  of  this  class  of  Irish- 
men was  the  result  either  of  sectarian  hate,  or  a  sense  of 
their  own   helplessness.     They  were  walling  to  persecute, 
or   they  hoped  to   propitiate;   therefore,  they   too  joined 
in    the   crusade   against    their   countrymen   in   a   foreign 


evi:n  at  thk  altau  and  in  tiik  pulpit 


451 


e  platform, 
ommniiities 

0  iiisiiiiity. 
inco  turnocl 
^'eii  relative 

took  years 
pl(Hl  iiiuler 

of  attack. 

ail  Irisli- 
lio  wan  as 
is  nativity. 
311(10 rs  less. 

S8  to  the 
iireasoiiiiifj^ 
!  in  their 
it  to  swell 
noil  en '111  lij 
)itter,  and 
of  nation- 
onied  that 
exhibition, 
to  be  w^on- 

1  with  the 
is  conduct 
is  iinnatu- 
rangenien, 
;li,  accord- 
ative-born 

office  or 
lection  or 
I  of  Irish- 
sense  of 
persecute, 
00  joined 
a   foreign 


land.  But  there  were  many,  many  glorious  e.Kceptions  to 
this  unwcu'thy  conduct.  Iiish  Protestants— men  of  strong 
religious  o[)iiii()ns,  wlio  opposed  Catholicity  on  principle— 
boldly  took  tluiir  stand  by  the  oppressed,  and  resented  the 
policy  of  the  Know  Nothing  party,  as  if  it  were  directed 
exclusively  against  themselves.  Symi)athising  with  their 
Catholic  fellow-countrymen,  they  met  the  assailants  gal- 
lantly, and  rebuked  tluiir  insane  folly  with  the  ;oui-ago 
and  the  sense  of  men.  And  to  Irislimeii  who  thus  actted 
Catholics  felt  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  gratitude 
and  respect.  It  was  a  time  to  test  the  true  merit  of  the 
man,  and  those  who  -stood  it  trium])hantly  were  (((iservedly 
honoured. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  anti-foreign  insanity 
caught  hold  of  the  sons  of  Irish  Catholics  ;  nay,  its  presence 
was  detected  at  the  altar  and  in  the  pulpit!  It  was  too 
base  an  infirmity  to  touch  a  generous  mind,  and  tlioso 
who  were  allected  by  it  were  weak  and  vain  and  foohsh, 
and  Americans  knew  them  to  be  such.  Where  one  is  born 
is  a  matter  of  accident.  If  this  be  so  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  it  is  eminently  so  with  the  children  of 
emigrants  ;  they  may  have  been  born  at  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  or  at  sea.  Absurd  instances  might  be  told  of 
the  sons  of  Irisli  Catholic  emigrants  boasting  of  their 
American  birth,  and  expressing  their  sympathy  with  the 
Know  Nothing's  hatred  of  foreigners.  The  humble,  honest 
parents,  redolent  of  the  soil,  endowed  with  a  brogue  rich 
and  mellifluous  enough  to  betray  their  origin,  were  they 
met  with  on  the  Steppes  of  Russia  or  in  the  desert  of 
Sahara  ;  and  the  unworthy  son  raiHng,  with  the  choicest 
accent  of  the  country  in  which  he  was  accidentally 
'dropped,'  against  the  land  of  his  fathers!  Such  spec- 
tacles have  been  witnessed,  to  the  infinite  shame  of  the 
niiserable  creatures  whose  vanity  was  too  much  for  a  weak 
head  and  a  poor  heart.  But  that  such  melancholy  spec- 
tacles were  witnessed — were  possible — is   a   proof  of  the 


452 


THE  lULSH  IN  AMERICA. 


I' 
Mm  I 

Ti 

m  B 

--a 


madness  that  seized  on  the  publie  mind.  Tlio  lijoli-minded 
American  Catholic  took  his  ytaud  by  his  Iriwh  co-reh-i(.nist, 
to  wJioso  lidehty,  liberality,  and  enthusiasm  ho  justly 
attributtid  much  of  the  marvellous  j^n-ogress  which  the 
Church  had  made,  and  was  destined  to  make,  in  America. 
There  were,  innong  Cuthohcs,  a  few  exceptions  to  this 
generous  and  wise  policy;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  religious 
sympathy  held  aU  other  feelings  in  r-ont]  ol,  or  ellectually 
neutrahsed  the  poison  of  the  national  infection. 

Like   fever   or  cholera,   this    pohtico-religious   epidemic 
was  milder  or  more  virulent  in  one  place  than  in  another. 
Here   it  seized   hold   of  the   entire   comnamity  ;    there  it 
caught    but    a    few    individu  ds.     Here    it    signahs^d    its 
presence  by  riots  ;   there   by   bloodshed.      In   this   cu  ■   its 
congenial  result  was   a  burning,    or   a   cowardly  assassi- 
nation ;  in  the  other  a  stand-iip  fight,  in  which  the  Irish 
Cathohc   had   to   encounter   enormous   odds   against   him. 
That  coraparatively  little   mischief  was  done  to   ecclesias- 
tical property  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  manner  with 
which,    as   by   one    impulse,    the    Cathohcs   raUied   round 
churches  and  convents  wherever  there  was  a  probabihty 
of  their  being  assailed.     In  New  York,  Know  Nothingism 
made    little    external    display   in   mischief    and    outrage; 
which  fact  may  be  accounted   for  in  two  ways— the  one, 
that   the   Irish   population   had   by   this   time   grown   too 
powerful  to    be   wantonly    triHed   with ;    the    other,    that 
they  listened  in  an  obedient  spirit  to  the  advice  of  tlio 
Archbishop,  who  wisely  believed  that  the  madness  would 
speedily   die   out   if    left   to   itself,    and  if  not   stimulated 
by  opposition  ;  that  it  was  something  similar  to  a  confla- 
gration  of  flax,  violent  for  the  monifc.it,  but  without  any 
enduring  power.     The  Archbishop  was  .-ight  in  his  judge- 
ment.    It  was  a  frenzy  of  the  hour,  art! idly  inflamed  by 
angry  sects,  and  skilfully  directed  by  unscrupulous   poli- 
ticians— men  wdio  would  Si.op  at  nothing  whJch  could  in 
any  way  further  the  objects  of  their  sellish  ambition.     The 


ALMOST  INCIIEDIBLE. 


463 


if^li-mindod 

■reliyl(jiiist, 

lie    justly 

which   tho 

11  America. 

lis  to   this 

0  religious 

effectual  Iv 

i  ei)icleniic 
in  another. 

;  there  it 
lahsf^d  its 
is  cii  ,'  its 
ly  assassi- 
.  tho  Irish 
aiiist   liiiii. 

ccclesias- 
iimer  with 
ied  round 
>robability 
[othingism 

outrage  ; 
— the  one, 
jrown  too 
ther,  that 
CO  of  tlio 
ess  would 
jtimulated 

a  confia- 

thout  any 

his  judg- 

tlamed  by 

lous   i^oli- 

could  in 
ion.     Tho 


fur}  of  the  madness  did  die  out ;  but  tho  feelings  to  which 
it  gave  rise,  or  evoked  into  new  life,  did  not  so  readily  pass 
away. 

I  might  possibly  bo  accused  of  romancing  if  I  ventured 
to  des(;ril)o  tlie  feeling  of  hostility  to  which  abuse  and 
misrepresent.'iUon  of  Catholics — Irish  Catholics  csppciaJly 
— gave  rise  in  the  Protestant  mind  of  America.  Horrible 
as  such  a  confession  may  sound  in  the  ears  of  ratioufd 
mei'  Protestants  of  good  repute  have  since  declared,  thiit 
at  <  .,■  lime  Ikeij  helicced  that  to  liil  a  (Jatlioiic  pn'rsf,  or 
burn  down  a  Calholic  church,  imuld  he  doing  the  iiio4 
acceplaUe  service  h  God!  I  had  hoard  this  from  tho 
most  reliable  sources  in  more  than  one  State ;  yet  it  was 
so  monstrous,  'ussitated  to  give  it  credence.  But  while  I 
wavered  between  doubt  and  belief,  I  myself  heard  from 
the  Hps  of  a  Catholic  convert — a  gentleman  of  worth  and 
good  social  position — the  same  confession,  in  (dmost  the 
very  same  words.  I  naturally  thought,  what  must  have 
been  tho  sontimont  of  a  low  and  vulgar  mind,  when  such 
was  the  feehng  of  a  man  of  good  character  and  so-c-alled 
hberal  education '?  Until  I  heard  him,  I  did  not  thoroughly 
appreciate  the  moral  blindness  and  savage  frenzy  of  the 


genuine  Know  Nothing. 


An  alderman  of  a  certain  city  in  Tennessee  informed  a 
friend  of  mine  that  such  was  his  feeling  in  his  youth,  that 
'  he  considered  it  doing  an  honour  to  the  Deity  to  take  his 
doublo-barrelled  shot-gun,  and  shoot  any  Catholic  ho  might 
meet.'  He  docs  not  hold  that  opinion  now ;  as  he  has 
been  a  zealous  Catholic  since  the  Christmas  of  18G5,  when 
he  was  received  into  the  Church. 

In  another  city  of  Tennessee  an  Irishman,  named 
Hefferman,  was  shot  during  tho  Know  Nothing  excite- 
ment ;  but  tho  th^ee  men  wlio  were  the  cause  of  his  death 
joined  the  Church  which  they  hated  and  persecuted  in  his 
person. 

Indeed,  such  was  the  astounding  rampancy  of  assertion 


I 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


/////    />  *'^ /%^ 


Q. 


^ 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


|50     "«'^~ 

^  us, 


1.4 


2.5 

M 

1= 

!l  1.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corpomtion 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4r03 


A-:- 


C/j 


454 


n 


THE  IRISH  IN  AjMERICA. 


-such  the  omnivorous  swallow  of  pubhc  creclulity-that 
when  he  CathoHc  Church  of  Nashville  was  in  the  course 
of  erection,  it  was  stated  in  the  newspaper  which  borrowed 
IS  inspiration  from  the  present  Governor  Brownlow,  that 
the  vaults,  or  basement  of  the  building,  were  intended  for 
the  incarceration  of  Protestants  when  the  Pope  was  to 
come  over  and  take  the  country!     It  was  also  asserted 

T  /f i''  l^^^  ^'^^'^'^'  ^^''^^  '^^^^^  ^^it^^^U^  ^vho  had 
started  the  Citizen  newspaper,  was  an  agent  of  the  Jesuits  • 

m  f^ict,  a  Jesuit  in  disguise !  I  must  admit  that  the  cre- 
duhty  which  converted  basements  of  churches  into  dun- 
geons oug^it  not  to  be  quoted  as  a  conclusive  proof  of  the 
insani  y  of  Know  Nothingism  ;  for  I  have  heard  much  the 
same  thing  announced  in  a  solemn  place,  and  with  o^l- 
like  gravity,  not  long  since,  and  not  in  America 

The  honest  'No  Popery '  zealots  were  not  bad,  but  only 
misguided  men  ;  and  when  they  had  the  opportunity  of 
forming  a  right  judgment-of  emancipating  themselves 
farom  the  leading-strings  in  which  interested  bigots  had 
held  their  minds-they  unhesitatingly  made  the  fullest  and 
most  generous  atonement. 

One  of  these  furious  but  honest  'No  Popery'  zealots  was 
going  on  a  voyage  of  some  days'  duration,  and  happening 
to  come  on  board  the  steamer  at  the  last  moment  before 
her  departure,  he  found  it  difficult  to  procure  accommo. 
dation.       Not  a  cabin,  sir-not  a  berth-all  taken,'  said 
the  clerk.        Cant  you    put    me    anywhere?'    asked  the 
gentleman  ;  'go  I  must,  though  I  slept  on  the  floor  '    The 
cleri.  glanced  over  his  books  to  see  how,  if  possible,  he 
could  accommodate  the  passenger,  who  awaited  the  result 
with  marked  anxiety.     'I  have  discovered  a  berth,  sir- 
the  top  berth-in  one  cabin ;  the  lower  berth  is  occupied 
by  a  very  quiet  person,  who  won't  give  you  much  trouble  ; 
he  s  a  Catholic  priest.'     'A  Cathohc  priest  !-did  vou  say 
a  priest?     A^hy,  damn  him  !  I  would  not  stay  in  ii^  same 
room   with   him,'   exclaimed   the  passenger.       'Well,   sir, 


THE  '  INFERNAL  MISCREANT. 


455 


sclulity— that 
1  tbe  course 
3h  borrowed 
wnlow,  that 
ntended  for 
ope  vras  to 
so   asserted, 
11,  who  had 
the  Jesuits  ; 
lat  the  cre- 
s  into  dun- 
>roof  of  the 
d  much  the 
I  with  owl- 

d,  but  only 
)rtuuity  of 
themselves 
bigots  had 
fullest  and 

;ealots  was 
hapiDening" 
ent  before 
accommo- 
iken,'  said 
asked   the 
oor.'    The 
/Ssible,  he 
the  result 
srth,  sir- 
'  occuj^ied 
L  trouble ; 
d  you  say 
the  same 
Well,   sir, 


that's  your  affair,  not  mine,'  replied  the  clerk  ;  *  it  is  all 
I  can  do  for  you.'  *  Look  you ! '  said  the  passenger,  'if  one 
of  us  is  missed  at  the  end  of  the  voyage,  I  tell  you  it  won't 
be  ine  ;  for  if  that  fellow  dares  to  address  one  word  to  me, 
out  of  the  wdndow  he  will  go — that  I  tell  you  now.'  The 
clerk  took  the  declaration  coolly,  not  being  unused  to  hear 
strong  language,  and  even  occasionally  witness  strange 
occurrences.  In  this  happy  frame  of  mind  the  passenger 
took  possession  of  his  upper  berth  at  night,  and  growled 
himself  to  sleep.  When  ho  awoke  in  the  morning,  and 
remembered  where  he  was,  and  who  was  his  companion, 
he  had  the  curiosity  to  ascertain  what  the  'infernal  mis- 
creant was  after.'  Peeping  from  his  vantage-ground,  he 
beheld  the  miscreant  on  his  knees,  apparently  absorbed  in 
prayer.  '  Damn  you !  there  you  are,'  was  the  benediction 
muttered  in  the  bed-clothes  of  the  upper  berth.  Its 
occupant  looked  again  and  again,  but  the  miscreant  was 
still  at  'his  humbug.'  At  length  the  miscreant  rose  from 
his  knees  and  left  the  cabin,  thus  affording  the  tenant  of 
the  upper  berth  an  opportunity  of  opening  the  window, 
and  getting  rid  of  the  odour  of  brimstone  which  'the 
devil'  had  left  after  him.  When  the  pair  happened  to 
meet  during  the  day,  the  lower  berth  courteously  bowed, 
and  said  something  civil,  to  which  the  upper  Iberth  re- 
sponded with  something  that  bore  a  strange  resemblance 
to  an  imprecation.  'Is  the  fellow  really  serious,  or  is  it 
all  a  sham?'  thought  the  Know  Nothing,  as  he  witnessed 
the  same  piety,  the  same  wrapt  devotion,  the  second  morn- 
ing. Stranger  still,  if  the  upper  berth  happened  to  visit 
the  cabin  during  the  day,  it  was  ten  chances  to  one  that 
he  discovered  the  '  extraordinary  animal '  on  his  knees,  or 
deep  in  a  book  of  devotion.  For  days  the  priest  was  the 
object  of  the  most  jealous  watchfulness,  stimulated  by 
suspicion  ard  dislike  ;  but  it  was  ever  the  same — the  same 
appearance  of  genuine  piety,  and  the  same  courtesy  of 
manner.     The  honest  gentleman  in  the  upper  berth  was 


456 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


31 


:S«Bf'3 


n 

--'H 


} 


staggered,  and  did  not  know  what  to  think  of  it.     'The 
fellow  might  possibly  be  a  fool,  but  he  certainly  was  not 
.    a  humbug.'     This  was  a  great  concession,  a  gigantic  stride 
towards  liberahty  of  sentiment.     At  length  he  spoke  with 
his  follow-passenger,  and  found  him,  what  others  had  long 
before   found    him    to  be,    intelligent   and  well-informed! 
He  was  not  a  fool,  and  not  a  humbug  ;  then,  what  was  he? 
The  conviction  rapidly  grew  upon  the  tenant  of  the  upper 
berth,  that  his  companion  was  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian 
minister  ;  and,  ere  the  voyage  was  at  an  end,  the  heart  of 
the  furious  hater  of  CathoHcity  was  changed  ;  more  than 
that,  ere  many  months  had  passed,  he  who  threatened  to 
put  the  priest  out  of  the  window  on  the  first  provocation, 
became  a  practical  CathoHc,  and  there  is  not  at  this  moment 
in  America  a  stouter  defender  of  the  Church  than  he  is. 

As  a  strikiaig  contrast  to  the  furious  and  unreasoning 
hatred  which  the  incident  just  narrated  represents,  one  of 
a  different  nature  may  be  told.  It  occurred  in  the  very 
height  of  the  Know  Nothing  excitement,  during  a  journey 
made  by  a  priest,  who  is  now  Bishop  of  a  Southern 
diocese. 

The  clergyman  found  himself  one  of   a  vei^  miscella- 
neous company  in  a  public  stage.     Next  to  him,  as  he  sat 
m  the  front  part  of  the  vehicle,  was  a  gentleman  of  grave 
and  reserved  demeanour;  while  the  other  passengers  ap- 
peared to  be  of  the  ordinary  class  to  be  met  with  under 
such   circumstances,  who   freely  discussed  all  manner  of 
topics,   whether  of   a  personal  or  a  pubhc    nature,  and 
whose  language  was  occasionally  sprinkled  with  pwfanity. 
The  company  had  proceeded  a  considerable  way  on  their 
journey,  when    the  gentleman   who   sat  next  the  future 
Bishop  enquired  of  him  if  he  were  not  a  'minister?'    'Why 
do  you  think  so?'   asked  the  priest.      'Well,  I  don't  ex- 
actly know;    but  you   say  grace  before    meals,   and  you 
don't  ciirse  and  swear.'     'I  am  a  Catholic  priest,'  said  the 
gentleman's  neighbour.     'I  am  glad  to  hear  it,'  said  the 


A  STRANG  K  CONFESSION. 


467 


3f  it.     'The 

nlv  was  not 
[•antic  stride 
spoke  with 
rs  had  lonir 
11-informed. 
hat  was  he '? 
f  the  upper 
a  Christian 
he  heart  of 
more  than 
:eatened  to 
'revocation, 
lis  moment 
a  he  is. 
nreasoning 
nts,  one  of 
n  the  very 
C  a  journey 
Southern 

r  miscella- 
,  as  he  sat 
a  of  grave 
angers  ap- 
dth  under 
nanner  of 
iture,  and 
profanity. 
'  on  their 
he  future 
'?'  'Why 
don't  ex- 

and  you 
,'  said  the 

said  the 


gentleman,  *  for  I  desire  to  ask  you  a  question  ;  and  beUeve 
me  I  do  not  think  of   asking  it  from  an  idle  motive,  as 
you  will  see.'     Tlic  priest  assured  him  he  would  be  happy 
to   answer   any   questions   which  it  was    in    his  power  to 
answer.     *  Then  I  wish   to  know  if    a   CathoHc  clergyman 
would  hear  the  confession  of  a  Protestant,  if  the  Protes- 
tant wanted  to  confess  ?  '     '  Confession,'  replied  the  priest, 
'has   two  benefits— good   advice  and  absolution.     Absolu- 
tion can  only  be  given  to  a  Catholic,  but  good  advice  may 
be  given  to  a  Protestant :  and,  therefore,  for  that  purpose 
—the  giving  of  good  advice— a  priest  could  hear  the  con- 
fession   of   a    Protestant.'     '  I   told    you,  '  continued    the 
gentleman,   'I  did  not   ask  the    question    from    an    idle 
motive.     I  am  a  Protestant,  and  I  wish  you  to  hear  my 
confession,    that  I  may  havp  the  benefit  of  your  advice.' 
The  priest  consented,  using  the  simple  words,  'Very  well, 
begi  1.'     At  this  moment  the  passengers,  \\  Jio  had  left  the 
stage,  were  walking  up  a  long  and  steep  hill:  and  while 
the  two  men  were  apparantly  sauntering  idly  up  that  hill, 
one  of  them  was  pouring  into  Lhe  ear  of  the  other  a  story 
of  the   deepest  interest   to  his  peace  of  ^  3ul ;  and  when 
the  passengers  again   resumed   their  places  in  the  stage, 
and  while  laugh,  and  jest,  and  profane  remark  were  heard 
on  every  side,  that  strange  confession  was  continued,  as  the 
two  men  leaned  back  in  the  vehicle,  and  the  one  Kstened 
to  the  voluntary  disclosures  of  the  other.     "When  the  story 
had  been  told,  and  the  promised  advice  given,  the  gentle- 
man said,  '  Well,  now,  I  can't  understand  it !     These  are 
matters  that  I  could  not  tell  to  my  brother— that  I  would 
not  for  the  world  my  wife  should  know— that  I  could  not 
confide  to  my  minister,  or  whisper  to  my  friends,    for  I 
would  die  rather  than  that  the  world  should  know  them ; 
and  here  I  have  freely  told  them  to  you,  a  stranger,  whom 
I  nevei  saw  before,   and  whom  I  may  never  see  again— 
and  why  do  I  tell  all  this  to  you?     Because  you  are  a 
Catholic  priest.     And  what  appears  to  me  so  strange  is  the 

20 


468 


TUB  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■fi*m . 


perfect  confidence  I  have  in  you;  for  I  have  not  the 
Bhghtest  fear  you  will  ever  reveal  one  word  of  what  I  have 
told  you  to  mortal  ears.  This  is  what  I  cannot  under- 
stand.' 

The  seeds  of  sectarian  hatred  were  scattered  broadcast 
over  the  land,   or  wafted,  hke  the  thistle-dowm,  on  every 
breeze ;  and  if  there  had  been  no  recent  crop  of  lusty  hate 
and  active  frenzy — if  there  have  been  no  burnings,  and 
wreckings,  and  outrages,  to  record  up  to  this  time,  not- 
withstanding that  the   usual  period  for  the  outbreak  of 
such  semi-religious  semi-political  epidemics  has  come  and 
gone,  this  apparently  strange  phenomenon  may  be  ration- 
ally accounted  for.     We   should  bo  glad  to   attribute  it 
wholly  to  the  good  sense  of   the  American  people,   who 
we  should  desire  to  think  were  no  longer  to  be  made  the 
dupes  of  monstrous  falsehoods  and  deliberate  misrepresen- 
tations, or  to  be  led  astray  by  theories  which  are  not  only 
grossly  absurd,  but  opposed  to  the  progress  of  the  United 
States.     Making,    however,   every  f.iir   allowance  for  the 
growing  good  sense  of   the  American  people,   we  cannot 
but  attribute  much  of  the  better  feeling  which  now  exists 
to   an   event  that  may  be  well  described  as  one   of   the 
most  memorable   in  the  history  of    the  world — the  late 
Civil  War.     Not  only  has  that  war  exhibited  in  the  most 
signal  manner  the  enormous  value  of  the  foreign  el    ;ent 
— its    strength,    its    courage,    and  its    fidelity ;     but    the 
Catholic   Church  has  had,   during    that  terrible  national 
ordeal,  an  unlooked-for  though  Providential  opportunity 
of  displaying  its  true  poUcy,  at  once  Christian  and  patri- 
otic, and   of  convincing   even   the  most  prejudiced  of  its 
purity,  its  hohness,  and  its  charity. 


lavG   not  the 

what  I  have 

mnot  iindev- 


ed  broadcast 
vn,  on  every 
of  lusty  hate 
urnings,  and 
is  time,  not- 
outbreak  of 
as  come  and 
y  bo  ration- 
attribute   it 
people,   who 
)e  made  the 
tnisreprescn- 
ire  not  only 
f  the  United 
nee   for  the 
,   we  cannot 
I  now  exists 
one   of   the 
Id — the  late 
in  the  most 
}ign  el    ;ent 
' ;    but    the 
ble   national 
opportunity 
I  and  patri- 
.diced  of  its 


I  f 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


S«^-Tif„?^""\""=i?l«^"T-TJ''».TrueMi^^ 


Chiirp^    T /o  r-V      V  c.      ,     ..  "  ^>'ir-iueTrue  Mission  of  th( 
the  VV^r  i?';- '^  ^P'f f  '"'■  "^'-^^'If'-the  'Sisters'  durinj? 

THE  Catholic  Church  of  America,  regarding  war  as  a  great 
calamity,  and  civil  war-of  State  against  State,  citizen 
against  citizen,  even  brother  against  brother— as  the  direst 
of  aU  evils,  scrupulously  abstained  from  uttering  one  word 
that  could  have  a  tendency  to  inflame  or  exasperate   the 
passions  which  others  were  doing  their  utmost  to  excite  to 
uncontrollable  fury.     The   mission  of  the  Church  was   to 
proclaim  glad  tidings  of  peace  to  man,  not  to  preach  strife 
and  hatred    amongst   brethren.     Thus  those  who  visited 
the  Cathohc  churches  of  the  United  States  from  the  Spring 
of  1861  to  the  Autumn   of   that   year,  would  never  have 
supposed,  from  anything  heard  within  their  waUs,  that  the 
tmmpet  had  sounded  through  the  land ;  that  armies  were 
gat^iermg,  and  camps  were  forming ;   that  foundries  were 
at  lull  blast,  forming  implements  of  death ;  that  artificers 
were  hard  at  work,  fashioning  the  rifle  and  the  revolver 
sharpening  the   sword,   and  pointing  the  bayonet  ;    that 
dockyards  rang  with  the  clang  of  hammers,  and  resounded 
with  the  cries  of  myriads  of  busy  men-that  America  was 
m  the  first  throes  of  desperate  strife.     Nor,  as  time  went 
on  and  all  the  pent-up  passions  of  years  were  unloosed 
and  a  deadly  war  progressed  with  varying  fortunes,  and 


h: 


460 


THE  IRISH  IN  aMKUICA. 


fury  posacHsed  the  heart  of  a  iiiiglitj  people,  could  the 
straiif^'cr  who  eniored  a  Catliolic  temple  scarcely  believe  in 
the  existence  of  the  storm  that  i  ged  without ;  the  only 
indications  of  the  tremendous  conflict  bein''  the  manv 
dark  robes,  the  sad  livery  of  woe,  worn  by  women  and 
children — the  mothers,  wives,  or  orphans  of  those  who  hat  I 
fallen  in  battle ;  for,  save  in  the  greater  solemnity  of  the 
priest,  as  he  raised  the  hearts  of  his  congregation  to  the 
throne  of  God,  there  to  sue  for  grace  and  pardon,  there  was 
nothing  to  iniply  the  existence  of  a  struggle  whose  gigantic 
pro[)ortions  filled  the  world  with  amazement.  The  Catholic 
Church  was  content  to  preach  'Christ  cucified'  to  its  own 
followers,  as  to  all  who  came  to  listen.  It  regarded  its 
pulpit  as  a  sacred  chair,  from  which  it  was  to  teach  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  how  man  could  best  fulfil  his 
duties  to  his  Creator,  his  country,  and  his  neighbour.  It 
deemed — and  the  judgment  of  the  wise  and  good  will  say 
it  deemed  rightly — that  if  the  minister  of  religion  became 
a  firebrand,  instead  of  a  preacher  of  peace,  he  misunder- 
stood his  duty,  and  prostituted  the  sanctity  of  his  office  : 
it  held,  that  it  was  a  gross  desecration  of  a  temple  erected 
to  the  worship  of  the  Deity,  to  suffer  it  to  resound  with 
the  language  of  unholy  strife — with  eloquent  incentives 
to  massacre  and  desolation.  Others  might  act  as  they 
l^leased  ;  they  might  turn  their  churches  into  political  as- 
semblies, and  their  pulpits  into  party  platforms — they  might 
rage,  and  storm,  and  fulminate — they  might  invoke  the 
fiercest  passions  of  the  huraan  breast,  and  appeal  to  the 
lowest  instincts  of  man's  nature — they  might  stimulate 
their  hearers  to  a  wider  destruction  of  Ufe  and  property, 
to  sadder  and  more  terrible  havoc  ;  others  might  do  this, 
as  others  did — but  the  Catholic  Church  of  America  was 
neither  bewildered  by  the  noise  and  smoke  of  battle,  nor 
made  savage  by  the  scent  of  blood :  she  simply  fulfilled  her 
mission,  the  same  as  that  of  the  Apostles — she  preached 
the  "Word  of  God  in  lovingness  and  peace. 


THE  CHURCH  SPEAKS  FOR  HERSELF. 


461 


P 


ie,  could  the 
icly  boliovo  in 
lut ;  tliG  only 
ig  tlic  111  any 
■  women  nnd 
[lose  who  had 
iuiiiity  of  tho 
i,^ati()ii  to  tho 
on,  there  was 
hose  gi{^aiitic 
The  Cathohc 
d '  to  its  own 
regarded  it.s 

to  teach  the 
est  fulfil  his 
cighbour.  It 
good  will  say 
igion  became 
le  misunder- 
of  his  office  : 
mple  erected 
resound  with 
nt   incentives 

act  as  they 
)  jiolitical  as- 
; — they  might 
t  invoke  the 
ippeal  to  the 
jht  stimulate 
md  property, 
light  do  this, 
America  was 
of  battle,  nor 
y  fulfilled  her 
slie   preached 


This  was  the  language  and  spirit  of  the  Church,  as  pro- 
(!laimed  in  the  Pastoral  Letter  emanating  from  the  Catholic 
Bishops  assembled  in  the  Third  Provincial  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  in  May  1801  : — 

It  ig  not  for  us  to  enquire  into  t|;e  causes  which  have  let]  to  the 
present  unhappy  condition  of  amiirs.  Tliis  enciiiiry  belongs  more 
appropriately  to  those  who  are  directly  conoerned  in  managing  the 
all'airs  of  the  republic.  The  spirit  of  the  Catholic  Church  is" emi- 
nently conservative,  and  wliile  hisr  ministers  rightfully  feel  a  deep 
and  abiding  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  the  coiintrv, 
they  do  not  think  it  their  p.-ovinco  to  enter  into  the  political  arena. 
They  leave  to  the  ministers  of  the  human  sects  to  discuss  from 
their  pulpits  and  in  their  ecclesiastical  assemblies  the  exciting  ques- 
tions which  lie  at  the  basis  of  most  of  our  present  and  prospect' *e 
difficulties.  Thus,  while  many  of  the  sects  have  divided  into  hostile 
parties  on  an  exciting  political  issue,  the  Catholic  Chiax-h  has  care- 
fully preserve!  her  unity  of  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  literally 
knowing  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West.  AVherever  Christ 
is  to  be  preached  and  sinners  to  be  saved,  there  slie  is  found  with 
ministrations  of  truth  and  mercy.  She  leaves  the  exciting  question 
referred  to  previously  where  the  inspired  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  left 
it,  contenting  herself,  like  him,  with  inculcating  on  all  classes  and 
grades  of  society  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  belonging  to 
their  respective  states  of-  life,  knowing  that  they  will  all  have  to 
render  a  strict  account  to  God  for  the  deeds  done;  in  the  flesh,  that 
this  life  is  short  and  transitory,  and  that  eternity  never  ends.  Beyond 
this  point  her  ministers  do  not  consider  it  their  province  to  go, 
knowing  well  that  they  are  the  ministers  of  God.  who  is  not  a  God 
of  dissension,  but  of  peace  and  love. 

Had  this  wise  and  considerate  line  of  conduct  been  generally  fol- 
lowed throughout  the  country,  we  are  convinced  that  much  of  the 
embittered  feeling  which  now  unfortunately  exists,  would  have  been 
obviated,  and  the  brotherly  love,  the  genuine  offspring  of  true 
Christianity,  instead  of  the  fratricidal  hatred  which  is  opposed  to  its 
essential  genius  and  spirit,  would  now  bless  our  country,  and  bind 
together  all  our  fellow  citizens  in  one  harmonious  brotherhood.  .May 
God.  in  his  abounding  mercy,  grant  that  the  sect.arianism  which  divides 
and  sows  dissensions,  may  gradually  yield  to  the  Catholic  spirit  which 
breathes  unity  and  love  ! 

The  startling  contrast  which  the  Catholic  Church  thus 
presented  to  most,  indeed  nearly  all,  of  the  other  churches 


Mt 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMKRICA. 


M 
-ft 

.1' 


3[ 


(lurinpr  this  period  of  national  tribuliition,  was  not  without 
its  inHiKsnco  on  tho  puhho  mind  of  America.  It  mado 
men  think  and  retloet,  fuul  in  numbttrlens  instances  con- 
viction came  with  thonj,dit  and  reflefition.  Tho  fervid  and 
furious  *  sermons '  that  wore  hstened  to  with  Hashing  eyes 
and  quickened  pulses  by  tho  majority  of  those  to  whom 
they  were  addressed,  excited  tho  sorrow  or  disgust  of  not 
a  few.  A  Protestant  gentleman,  speaking  to  a  Catholic; 
friend  in  New  York,  thus  referred  to  tho  prevailing  topics 
which  inspired  the  ehxpience  of  his  13oanerges  :— 

*  My  wife  urged  mo  yesterday  to  accompany  her  to  our 
church.  I  refused  ;  she  was  rather  angry.  "  Well,  my 
dear,"  I  said,  "you  may  go  if  you  please;  the  pew  i:^  there 
for  you— I  pay  for  it.  But  I  shan't  go.  Whenever  I 
have  gone  I  liavo  never  heard  but  three  sermons  at  tho 
most  — Popery,  Slavery,  and  War  — War,  Slavery,  and 
Popery!  These  may  satisfy  you— they  don't  mo.  When 
I  go  to  church  I  wish  to  oe  mado  better,  not  worse.  Now 
I  think  a  little  of  the  Gospel,  that  tells  us  something  of 
peace  and  charity,  would  do  me  good— your  War,  and 
Slavery,  and  Popery  don't.      I  repeat,  my  dear,  you  may 

go  if  you  please  ;  but  I'm blessed  if  I  do." ' 

If  the  Catholic  Church  could  do  nothing  to  prevent  war, 
she  could  at  least  do  much  to  mitigate  its  horrors;  and 
accordingly  she  commissioned  her  noblest  representatives 
—her  consecrated  daughters— to  minister  in  the  public 
hospitals,  in  the  camp,  and  in  the  prisons— wherever 
wretchedness,  and  misery,  and  suffering  appealed  most 
powerfully  to  their  Christian  duty  and  womanly  com- 
passion. 

The  events  of  the  war  brought  out  in  the  most  con- 
spicuous manner,  the  merits  and  usefulness  of  the  Relig- 
ious Orders,  especially  those  of  Charity  and  Mercy,  and  the 
Holy  Cross,  and,  spite  of  prejudice  and  bigotry,  made 
the  name  of  'Sister'  honoured  throughout  the  land.  Pre- 
judice and  bigotry  are  powerful  with  individuals  and  oom- 


TIIR  SISTERS'  DURING  TIIK  WAR. 


463 


i  not  without 
:a.  It  mado 
HtiUicoH  con- 
o  forvid  ami 
lashiiij,'  03TS 
ise  to  whom 
sgust  of  not 
)  a  Cathoho 
ailing  topics 

Y  hor  to  our 
"Well,  my 
pew  VA  thoro 
^Vhoiiever  I 
aons  at  tlio 
lavory,  and 
mo.  When 
^orso.  Now 
imothing  of 
r  War,  and 
'1',  you  may 

►revent  war, 
>rrors ;  and 
resentatives 
the  public 
1 — wherever 
ealed  most 
Qanly  coni- 

most  con- 
the  Relig-- 
'cy,  and  the 
Dtry,  made 
land.  Pre- 
s  and  oom- 


ijiuiiities,   powerful,    too,    in   i)roporti()n  to   the   if>noran('0 
which   Hhrouds   the    mind    of  man.     Still,    tlicse   arc    hut 
relatively  strong,  and  muHt  yuM  l)('for(!  a  force  Hupcrior  to 
their's — trttlh.     And  aH  month  followtul  montii,   and   year 
KUC(;eeded  to  year,  the  priceless  value  of  services  havinj* 
their  motive  in  religion  and  their  reward  in  the  conscious- 
ness  of  doing  good,  were  more  thoroughly  ai)preciated  l)y  a 
generous  people.     At  their  presence  in  an  hospital,  whether 
long  estabhshed  or  hastily  improvistsd,  order,  good  manage- 
ment, and  economy,  took  the  i)lace  of  confusion,  la.K  ad- 
ministration, and  reckless  expenditure,  if  not  worse.     Ob- 
stacles, in  many  instances  of  a  serious  nature,  were  placed 
dehberately   in  their   path ;   but,   with   tact,    and   tcunper, 
and    firmness,    these   were    encountered    by   women   wh(i 
hiid  no  vanity  to  wound,  no  malice  to  inflame,  and  whoso 
only  object  was  to  relieve  the  suflerings  of  the  sick  and 
wounded   in  the   most   efficacious   manner.      It  is   there- 
fore not  to  bo  wondered  at  that  difficulties  and  o])Kta(!l  s, 
however  apparently  formidable   at   first,   vanished   before 
the  resistless  influence  of  their  sincerity  and  their  goodness, 
and  the  quite  as  conclusive  evidence  of  their  usefulness. 
But  the   greater  their   success,  the  greater  the  strain  on 
the  resources  of  the  principal  Orders.     Not  only  did  death 
and  sickness   thin  their   ranks,   but   the   war,   by   adding 
fearfully  to  the  number  of  helpless  orphans,  Jidded  like- 
wise to  their  cares  and  responsibilities.     What  with  cease- 
less duty  in  the  hospitals,  teaching  in  their  schools,  visit- 
ing   the   sick,   providing  for   the    fatherless   whom   every 
great  battle   flung  upon   their    protection,    administering 
the   afiairs   of  institutions  perilled  by  the   universal   dis- 
turbance, bringing  relief  and  consolation  to  the  prisoner 
in  the  crowded  building,  or  wretched  camp  to  which  the 
chance  of  war  consigned  the  soldier  on  either  side — the 
Sisters  were  tried  to  the  very  uttermost.     Nothing  but  the 
spirit  of  rehgion,  together  with  their  womanly  compassion 
for  the  sick  and  the  suficring,  and  their  interest  in  the  brave 


464 


THE  IRISn  IN  AMKIUCA. 


■  I 


■<-''5MI 


follows  who,  (locilo  childndi  in  their  luindH,  followed  thorn 
with  wislfiil  (-ycH  iih,  ai)<;('lH  of  li;;ht  and  niorcy,  thoy 
bron<jfht  halm  to  tho  heart  of  tho  wounded, — nothinj^  Hhort 
of  tho  Hublinio  motives  by  whieh  thewc!  ludioH  w(U'e  animated 
could  have  BUbtained  them  throughout  four  long  yeara  of 
ceaseleHH  toil  and  nover-endinj,'  anxiety. 

You  may  have  seen  tho  foc^blest  bird  exhibit  unlooked- 
for  eourago  when  dan«(er  threatencnl  its  younp.  IVIaternal 
instinct  renders  it  ahnost  unrecognisable — tho  glitterin*^ 
eye,  tho  milled  phuna'^e,  and  the  bold  attitude,  make  it 
80  unlike  the  ordinary  timid  c«-(!atur(\  So,  jj^cmtle,  shi'ink- 
m<^,  timid  as  the  Sister  mi<4ht  be  under  ordinary  eireuni- 
stanees,  let  the  least  wrong  be  done  to  h(!r  patients — let 
even  incompetency  or  neglect  bo  manifested  in  an  hospital 
under  lujr  charge  ;  Jind  that  gentle-nnmnered,  soft-spoken 
Sister  would  como  out  instantly  in  a  new  character.  Many 
an  oilicial — proud,  or  insolent,  or  bigoted,  or  incompetent, 
or  corrupt — has  had  to  bond  before  the  quiet  determina- 
tion expressed  in  tho  voice  and  manner  of  tho  Sister 
inspired  by  a  sense  of  duty  springing  alike  from  humanity 
and  religion.  Throughout  tho  country,  in  almost  every 
State  of  tho  Union,  are  now  to  bo  seen  Sisters — calm, 
gentle,  soft-voiced  women — of  whose  sturdy  energy  and 
resolute  courage  in  defence  of  their  sick  charge,  or  in 
resistance  of  ab^■lses,  numerous  instances  are  narrated  ; 
never  by  themselves,  but  by  those  who,  having  witnessed 
them,  cherish  them  in  their  memory.  No  officer,  no 
official,  ventured  to  treat  the  Sister  with  disresjiect,  onco 
her  value  was  known  ;  and  it  was  soon  made  known.  Tho 
impediments  and  embarrassments  which  were  occasionally 
thrown  in  her  w\ay  were  borne  with  as  far  as  they  possibly 
might  bo  ;  but  when  the  time  for  action  arrived,  even  the 
youngest  Sister  was  generally  equal  to  the  emei'gcncy.  As 
the  war  progressed,  so  did  the  influenco  of  tho  Sisters,  until 
at  length  there  was  scarcely  a  corner  of  the  country  into 
which  a  knowledge  of  their  services   did  not  penetrate. 


lowod  iliom 
iicivy,  they 
)tliin},'  Hliort 
fo  fuiiiunted 
;ig  years  of 

;  iinlookod- 
Miiternjil 

0  glittorin^' 
lo,  iimlco  it 
lilo,  filniiilc- 
firy  circiuii- 
iitiouts — lot 

nil  ]l()H[)itlll 

Koft-Hpokou 

tcr.     Many 

icompetcnt, 

dotoriniiia- 

tbo   Sister 

1  liiiinanity 
most  every 
ters — culm, 
anergy  and 
irge,  or  in 
)  narrated  ; 
^  witnessed 

officer,  no 
!Si)ect,  once 
Lown.  The 
)Ccasionally 
ey  possibly 
:I,  even  the 
gcncy.  As 
Lsters,  until 
Diintry  into 

penetrate. 


THE  PATIKNTS  COULD  NOT  MARK  THKM  OUT.         idH 

and  there  were  Imt  fmv  houies  in  wiiicli  their  name  was  not 
mentioned  with  respecrt. 

At  first,  the  .soldiers  did  not  know  what  to  niake  o* 
them,  and  could  not  ('(imjtrehend  who  ihey  were,  or  what 
was  tJK'ir  object.  And  wlien  tlio  jjatient  learned  Ihat  Ihe 
Sister  with  the  strange  dress  belonged  to  the  Catholio 
Church — that  church  of  wliich  so  nwmy  vile  stories  had 
been  told  him  from  his  childliood — n^look  of  dread,  even 
horror,  might  be  observed  in  his  eyes,  as  ho  instinctively 
re(;oiled  from  her  prollVsred  services.  This  aversion  rarely 
continued  long  ;  it  nuilttid  awjiy  like  ice  before  the  sun  ; 
but,  unlike  the  ice,  whit^h  the  wint((r  again  brings  round, 
this  feeling  never  returned  to  the  heart  of  the  l)rave  nnm 
whom  tlu5  fortune  of  war  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
Sister.  Once  gone,  it  was  gone  for  evcsr.  How  the  pre- 
judice, deep-seated  and  ingrained,  yielded  to  the  infliienco 
of  the  Sisters,  may  be  best  excunplilied  by  h  few  incidents, 
taken  at  random  from  a  vast  innuber  of  a  similar  nature 
gathered  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 

Seven  Sisters  of  Mercy,  belonging  to  the  Houston  Street 
Convent  in  New  York,  were  sent  to  an  hospital  attached 
to  a  Federal  corps.  When  they  first  entered  the  wards, 
which  were  crowded  with  sick  and  wounded,  the  soldiers 
regarded  them  with  amazement.  One  of  the  Sisters,  u 
genial  Irishwoman,  referring  to  this  her  first  visit  to  the 
hospital,  told  with  much  humour  how  the  bewildered 
patients  took  the  Sisters  for  seven  widows,  who  were 
looking  for  the  dead  bodies  of  their  husbands ! 

Among  the  patients,  there  was  one  mere  lad — indeed 
almost  a  child,  scarce  fit  to  leave  his  mother's  guardian- 
ship— and  he  lay  with  Iws  face  on  the  inllow,  as  an  hospital 
attendant,  not  eminent  for  humanity,  carelessly  sponged  a 
fearful  wound  in  the  back  of  the  poor  youth's  neck.  The 
hair  had  been  matted  with  the  clotted  blood,  and  the  rude 
touch  of  the  heartless  assistant  was  agony  to  the  miserable 
patient.     'Let  me  do  it'  said  the   Sister,  taking   the   in- 


166 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


strument  of  torture  from  the  unsympathising  hand  ;  and 
then,  with  tepid  water,  and  soft  sponge,  and  woman's 
dehcacy  of  touch,  the  hideous  sore  was  tenderly  cleansed. 
*0h,  who  is  that? — who  are  you? — you  must  be  an 
angel ! '  cried  the  relieved  youth.  The  hair  was  gently 
separated  from  the  angry  flesh,  so  that  the  grateful  patient 
could  turn  his  head  and  glance  at  the  'angel;'  but  no 
sooner  did  he  cast  one  rapid  look  at  the  strange  garb 
and  the  novel  head-dress  of  the  Sister,  than  he  shrieked 
with  terror,  and  buried  his  face  in  the  pillow.  'Do  not 
fear  me,'  said  a  voice  full  of  sympathy;  'I  am  only 
anxious  to  relieve  your  sufferings.'  The  work  of  mercy 
vas  proceeded  with,  to  the  ineffable  comfort  of  the 
wounded  boy,  who  murmured — 'Well,  no  matter  what 
you  are,  you're  an  angel  anyhow.' 

At  times  there  were  as  many  as  eighty  Sisters  in  or  near 
Richmond,  in  active  attendance  in  the  hospitals,  giving  thoh* 
services  alike  to  the  wounded  soldiers  of  both  armies.  In 
one  of  the  Richmond  hospitals  the  following  took  place  : 

A  sick  man,  looking  steadily  from  his  pillow  at  the 
Sister,  who  was  busy  in  her  attentions  to  him,  abrawtly 
asked — 

'Who  pays  you? — what  do  you  get  a  month?  ' 

'  We  are  not  paid  ;  we  do  not  receive  salaries,'  replied 
the  Sister. 

'Then  why  do  you  work  as  you  do? — you  never  cease 
working  ' 

'  What  we  do,  we  do  for  the  love  of  Grod — to  Him  we  only 
look  for  our  reward — we  hope  He  will  pay  us  hereafter.' 

The  wounded  man  seemed  as  if  he  could  not  entirely 
comprehend  a  devotion  so  repugnant  to  the  S2^irit  of  the 
A-lmighty  Dollar ;  but  he  made  no  further  remark  at  the 
time.  When  he  became  more  confidential  with  the  Sister, 
the  following  dialogue  was  held — 

Patient.   Well,  Sister,  there  is  only  ono  class  of  people 
.in  this  world  that  I  hate. 


and  ;    and 

I  woman's 
'■  cleansed. 
St  be  an 
vas  gently 
fill  patient 
[ ; '  but  no 
ango  garb 
3  shrieked 
'Do  not 
'.  am  only 
of  mercy 
rt  of  the 
itter  what 

in  or  near 
iving  their 
nuies.  In 
place  : 
)w  at  the 
,  abriiutly 


s,'  replied 

3ver  cease 

m  we  only 
3after.' 
)t  entirely 
irit  of  the 
irk  at  the 
the  Sister, 

of  people 


THE  FORGIVEN  INSULT. 


467 


Sister.  L'^d  who  may  those  be? 

Patient.  The  Catholics. 

Sifter.  The  Oathohcs !     Why  do  you  hate  them  ? 

Patient.  "Well,  they  are  a  detestable  peo])le. 

Sister.  Did  you  ever  meet  with  a  Catholic  that  you  say 
that  of  them  ? 

Patievt.  No,  never  ;  I  never  came  near  jne. 

Sister.  Then  how  can  you  think  so  hiirdly  of  persons  of 
whom  you  don't  know  anything  ? 

Patient.  All  my  neighbours  tell  me  they  arc  a  vile  and 
wicked  people. 

Sister.  Now,  what  would  you  think  and  say  of  me,  if  I 
were  one  of  tliose  Catholics  ? 

Patient,  (indignantly).  Oh,  Sister!  you! — you  who  are 
so  good !     Impossible ! 

Sister.  Then,  indeed,  I  am  a  Catliolic — a  Roman  Cath- 
olic. 

The  poor  fellow,  whose  nerves  were  not  yet  well  strung, 
rose  in  his  bed  as  with  a  bound,  looked  the  picture  of 
amazement  and  sorrow,  and  burst  into  tears.  He  had  so 
lately  written  to  his  wife  in  his  distant  home,  telling  her 
of  the  unceasing  kindness  of  the  Sister  to  him,  and  attri- 
buting his  recovery  to  her  care  ;  and  he  was  now  to  dis- 
close the  awful  fact  that  the  Sister  was,  after  all,  one  of 
those  wicked  people  of  whom  he  and  she  had  heard  such 
evil  things.  This  was,  at  first,  a  great  trouble  to  his 
mind  ;  but  the  trouble  did  not  last  long,  for  that  man  left 
the  hospital  a  Catholic,  of  his  own  free  choice,  and  could 
then  understand,  not  only  that  his  ne-ighbours  had  been, 
like  himself,  the  dupes  of  monstrous  fables,  but  how  the 
Sister  could  work  and  toil  for  no  earthly  reward. 

A  Sister  was  passing  through  the  streets  of  Boston  with 
downcast  eyes  and  noiseless  step,  reciting  a  prayer  or 
thinking  of  the  poor  family  she  was  about  to  visit.  As 
she  was  passing  on  her  errand  of  mercy,  she  was  suddenly 
addressed,  in  language  that  made  her  -paXe  cheek  flush,  hj 


\ 


468 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


t'-Kf:; 


'■mik, 


a  young  man  of  remarkable  appearance  and  free  swagger- 
ing gait.     The  Sister,  tlioiigli  grievously  outraged,  uttered 
no  word,  but  raised  lier  eyes,  and  looked  at  the  offender 
with  calm  steady  gaze,  in  which  volumes  of  rebuke  were 
expressed.      Time   passed   on  ;    the   war  intervened  ;   and 
when  next  they  met  it  was  in  a  ward  of  a  military  hospital 
m  Missouri.     The  once  powerful  man  was  now  feeble  as 
an  infant,  and  had  not  many  days  to  hve.      The   Sister, 
seeing  his   condition,  asked  him   if    he   belonged   to   any 
church ;   and  on  his  replying  in  the  negative,  she  asked  if 
he  would  be  a  Catholic.      '  No-not  a  Catholic— I  always 
hated  Catholics,'  he  rephed.      '  At  any  rate,  you  should  ask 
the  pardon  of  God  for  your  sins,  and  be  sorry  for  what- 
ever evil  you  have  done  in  your  life,'  urged  the  Sister. 

'I  have  committed  many  sins  in  my  life,  Sister,  and  I 
am  sorry  for  them,  and  hope  to  be  forgiven  ;  but  there  is 
one  thipg  that  weighs  heavy  on  my  mind  at  this  moment 
—I  once  insulted  a  Sister  in  Boston,  and  her  glance 
haunted  me  ever  after:  it  made  me  ashamed  of  myself. 
I  knew  nothing  then  of  what  Sisters  were,  for  I  had  not 
known  you.  But  now  that  I  know  how  good  and  disin- 
terested you  are,  and  how  mean  I  was,  I  am  disgusted 
with  myself.  Oh,  if  that  Sister  were  here,  I  could  go  down 
on  my  knees  to  her  and  ask  her  pardon  ! ' 

•You  have  asked  it,  and  received  it,'  said  the  Sister, 
looking  full  at  him,  but  with  a  sweet  expression  of  tender- 
ness and  compassion. 

'What !  Are  you  the  sister  1  met  in  Boston?  Oh,  yes! 
you  are— I  know  you  now.  And  how  could  you  have 
attended  on  me  witli  greater  care  than  on  any  of  the  other 
patients  ?— I  who  insulted  you  so ! ' 

'I  did  it  for  our  Lord's  sake,  because  He  loved  His  ene- 
mies, and  blessed  those  who  persecuted  Him.  I  knew  you 
fi-om  the  first  moment  you  were  brought  into  the  hospital, 
and  I  have  prayed  unceasingly  for  your  conversion, '%aid 
the  Sister. 


WHAT  THE  SISTER  BELIEVES  I  BELIEVE.' 


ie  swagger- 
■ed,  uttered 
he  offender 
3buke  were 
eiied  ;  and 
iry  hospital 
V  feeble  aa 
Che  Sister, 
ed  to  any 
he  asked  if 
— I  always 
should  ask 
'  for  what- 
ister. 

iter,  and  I 
ut  there  is 
is  moment 
ler  glance 
of  myself. 
I  had  not 
and  disin- 
disgusted 
d  go  down 

he   Sister, 
of  tender- 
Oil,  yes! 
you   have 
the  other 

i  His  ene- 
knew  you 
)  hosDital, 
sion,'  said 


469 


the 


'  Send  for  the  priest ! '  exclaimed  the  dying  soldier ; 
religion  that  leaches  such  charity  must  be  from  God.' 

And  he  did  die  in  the  Sister's  faith,  holding  in  his 
failing  grasp  ihe  emblem  of  man's  redemption,  and  mur- 
muring prayei-a  taught  him  by  her  whose  glance  of  mild 
rebuke  had  long  haunted  him  like  a  remorse  through  every 
scene  of  revelry  or  of  peril. 

'Do  you  believe  that,  Sister?  If  you  believe  it,  I  be- 
lieve it,  too.'  There  was  scarcely  an  hospital  at  either  side 
of  the  line.  North  or  South,  of  which  the  Sisters  had  the 
care,  in  which  these  apparently  strange  but  most  significant 
words  were  not  uttered  by  the  sick  and  the  dying.  Many 
of  the  poor  fellows  had  not  the  vaguest  notion  of  religious 
teaching,  never  having  troubled  themselves  with  such 
matters  in  the  days  of  their  youth  and  health  ;  and  when 
the  experienced  eye  of  the  Sister  discerned  the  approach 
of  death,  the  patient  would  be  asked  if  he  wished  to  see  a 
clergyman.  Frequently  the  answer  would  be  that  he  did 
not  belong  to  any  religion.  'Then  will  you  become  a 
Catholic,'  would  follow  as  a  fair  question  to  one  who  pro- 
claimed himself  not  to  belong  to  any  church,  or  to  be- 
lieve in  any  form  of  Christianity.  From  hundreds,  nay 
thousands  of  sick  beds,  this  reply  was  made  to  that  ques- 
tion :  '  I  don't  know  much  about  religion,  b.ut  I  wish  to 
die  in  the  religion  of  the  Sisters.'  AVhen  asked,  for 
example,  if  he  believed  in  the  Trinity,  the  dying  man 
would  turn  to  the  Sisters  who  stood  by  his  bedside,  and 
enquire, — '  Do  you.  Sister  ? '  and  on  the  Sister  answering, 
'  Yes,  I  do,'  he  would  say,  '  Then  I  do — whatever  the 
Sister  beUeves  in,  I  do.'  And  thus  he  would  make  his 
confession  of  faith. 

A  soldier  from  Georgia,  who  was  tended  by  the  Sisters 
in  an  hospital  in  St.  Louis,  declared  that  'he  had  never 
heard  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  knew  nothing  about  him.'  He 
was  asked  if  he  would  become  a  Catholic.  '  I  have  heard 
of  them,'  he  said ;  *  I  would  not  be  one  of  them  at  all — 


■ 
9 


I 


476 


^■'' 


.^f^r^t  :; 


;it^ 


'-.^^1 


'■-HI- 


THE  IRISH  L^I  AMERICA. 


same  as  you. 


they  are   wi-ked  people.     But  I'll  bo   the 
Sister ;  whatever  that  is,  it  must  be  good.' 

At  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  a  number  of  Sisters  joined 
the   camp  hospital,    bringing   with    them    a    considcrrblo 
quantity  of  provisions  and  comforts,  procured  at  their  OAvn 
cost.     They  even    went  on  the   field,  bravely   conquering 
the  natural  reluctance  of  dehcate  women  to  witness  scenes 
of  horror  such  as  every  inch  of  a  hard-fought  battle-field 
discloses.     What  services  these   tender  v/omen — some  of 
them  young  creaturtvs  not  long  professed— rendered  to  the 
mangled   victims  of  that  furious   contest,  it  were   impos- 
sible to  tell.     But  so  signal  was  the  devotion  which  they 
displayed  in  an  emergency  of   so  pressing  a  nature,  that 
they  ehcited  from  a  pre  richer  the  following  strange  tribute, 
pubhshed   in  the   newspapers: — 'Although    I    hate    their 
religion,  an^  despise  their  sectarianism,  I  must  do  justice 
to    the    self-sacrificing    devotion   of    those   pale  unmated 
flowers,  that  never  ripen  with  fruit.'     One,  not  a  preacher, 
might  imagine  that  the  blessings  and  prayers — the  purest 
offerings  of  the  heart — that  sprang  up  in  their  path  wher- 
ever they  turned,  were  fruit  the  most  acceptable  to  these 
*  pale  unmated  flowers ; '  but  the  idea  would  appear  fan- 
tastical and  far-fetched   to   the   material  nature  -of   their 
enlightened  panegyrist. 

It  really  matters  little,  when  referring  to  the  services 
of  the  Sisters  during  the  war,  which  army,  which  State, 
or  which  hospital  is  mentioned  as  the  scene  of  their 
labours.  Their  charity,  like  their  Order,  was  universal; 
and  whether  they  ministered  to  the  sick  in  a  Union  or 
Confederate  army,  or  in  a  Northern  or  Southern  State,  it 
was  the  same  in  motive  and  in  object.  Next  to  the  side 
in  the  hospital,  the  prisoner  was  the  dearest  object  of  their 
solicitude. 

The  Sisters  in  Charleston  did  glorious  service  during  the 
war — to  the  sick,  the  dying,  the  prisoner,  and  the  needy. 
At  certain  times  immense  numbei-s  of  prisoners  were  camped 


me  as  you, 

iters  joined 
onsidcrr.blo 
t  their  own 
conquering 
ncss  scenes 
battle-field 
— some  of 
3red  to  the 
3re    impos- 
^^liich  they 
ature,  that 
ge  tribute, 
hate    their 
do  justice 
J  unmated 
.  preacher, 
the  purest 
^ath  wher- 
e  to  these 
ppear  fan- 
B  -of   their 

e  services 
lich  State, 
of  their 
universal ; 
Union  or 
1  State,  it 
)  the  sicl: 
3t  of  their 

hiring  the 
he  needy. 
;e  camped 


THE  CHARIOT  OF  MERCY. 


471 


outside  the  city.     They  were  in  a  miserable  state.     Charles- 
ton, partly  consumed  by  the  tremendous  fire-  of  1861,  by 
w'hicii  an  enormous  amount  of   property   was   dtistroy^d, 
and  further  assailed  by  a  bombardment  scarcely  paralleled 
in  modern  history,  could  not  afford  much  accommodation 
to  the  captured  of  the  enemy.     Penned  up  together,  and 
scantily  fed,  the  condition  of   the  prisoner  was  far  from 
enviable  ;  it  was  indeed  deplorable.     To  these  poor  fellows' 
the  Sisters  were  in  reality  what  they  were  styled — '  angels 
of    mercy.'     Presented  with  a  universal  pass  by  General 
Beauregard,  the  Sisters  went  everywhere  unquestioned,  as 
if  they  were   so   many   staff    officers.     The   General  had 
likewise  presented  them  with  an  ambulance  and  a  pair  of 
splendid  white  horses,  remarkable  for   their  beauty,  and, 
on  account  of  their  colour,  conspicuous  at  a  considerable 
distance.      Many   a   lime  has   the  gight   of    these   horses 
brought  gladness  to  the  heart  of  the  prisoner,  as  he  beheld 
them  turning  the  corner  of   the   highway  leading  to  the 
camp.     When  the  white   specks  were   seen    some    three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  on  the  road,  the  word  was  given,    '  The 
Sisters  are  coming ! '     As  that  announcement  was   made, 
the   drooping   spirit  revived,   and  the  fainting  heart  was 
stirred  with  hope;   for  with  the  Sisters  came  food,  com- 
forts, presents,  perhaps  a  letter,  or  at  least  a  message — 
and  always  sweet  smiles,  gentle  words,  sympathy  and  con- 
solation.     The    ambulance,   drawn  by  the   gallant  white 
steeds,  was  usually  filled  with  hundreds  of  white  loaves — 
in  fact,   with  everything  which  active  charity  could  pro- 
cure or    generosity  contribute.     The  rations  given  to  the 
prisoners  were  about  as  good  as  the  Confederate  soldiers 
had  for  themselves;    but  to  the   depressed,  pent-up   pri- 
soner, these   were   coarse    and    scanty    indeed.      •'  Sister ! 
Sister    of  Charity!    Sister   of  Mercy !— put  something  in 
this  hand  !'—' Sister,  Sister,    do._,  \    forget  me  !'—' Sister, 
Sister,  for  the  love  of  God  !  '—Oh,  Sister,  for  God's  sake  !  * 
—such  were  the  cries  that  too  often  tortured  the  tender 


1 
t 


ly 


ijji"! 
9 


47S 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


hearts  of  the  Sisters  as  they  found  fheir  stock  of  provisions 
fast  ruiiniiig  out,  and  knew  that  hundreds  of  hungry  ap- 
plicants were  still  unsatisfied.  Many  a  time  did  they  turn 
away  on  their  homeward  journey  with  whitened  lips  and 
streaming  eyes,  as  they  beheld  those  outstretched  hands, 
and  heard  those  cries  of  gaunt  and  famished  men  ringing 
in  then-  ears.  To  the  uttermost  that  they  could  do,  the 
Sisters  lid,  and  this  the  prisoners  knew  in  their  grateful 
hearts.  These  horses  shed  light  in  their  path  ;  the  clatter 
of  their  feet  was  as  music  to  the  ear  of  the  anxious  hstener ; 
and  the  blessings  of  gaUant  suffering  men  followed  that 
chariot  of  mercy  wherever  it  was  borne  by  its  snowy  steeds 
in  those  terrible  days  of  trial. 


Such   was  the   effect  produced  by  the   Sisters   on  the 
minds  of  the  patients  in  their  charge,  that  when  wounded 
or  sick   a  second  time,  they  would   make   every  possible 
effort  to  go  back  to  the  same  hospital  in  which  the^  had 
been  previously  cared  for,  or,  if  that  were  not  possible,  to 
one  under  the   management   of  these   good  women.     In- 
stances have  been  told  of  wounded,  men   who   travelled 
se\^ral  hundred  miles  to  come  again  under  the  charge  of 
the   Sisters;    and    one,   in    particular,   of   two  men  from 
Kentucky,   who  had  contrived  to  make  their  way  to  the 
large  hospital   at  White   Sulphur   Springs  in  Virginia,  a 
distance  of  200  miles  from  where  they  had  been  wounded. 
They  had  been  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  on  a  former 
occasion,   and  had  then  agreed  that  should  they  ever  be 
wounded  or  fall  sick  again,  they  would  return  to  the  same 
hospital,  and  if  they  were  to  die,  that  they  should  die  in 
the  faith  of  the  Sisters  who  had  been  so  good  to   them. 
Both  these  men  were    American    Protestants,    and    had 
never  seen  a  Cathohc  priest  before  they  bebeld  the  clergy- 
man who  received  them  into  the  Church  in  the  Virginian 
hospital.     One   of   the   two  men  was  past  cure,  and  was 


of  provisions 
f  linhgry  ap- 
id  they  turn 
;ied  lips  and 
x'lied  hands, 
m(3n  rinffinn- 
)uld  do,  the 
beir  grateful 
;  the  clatter 
3US  listener ; 
)llo-wed  that 
nowy  steeds 


ters  on  the 
en  wounded 
3ry  possible 
!h  the^  had 
possible,  to 
^omen.     In- 
to  travelled 
3  charge  of 
men  from 
way  to  the 
Virginia,  a 
1  wounded. 
Dn  a  former 
ley  ever  be 
0  the  same 
3uld  die  in 
i  to   them, 
and    had 
the  clcrgy- 
i  Virginian 
i,  and  was 


•AM  I  TO  FORGIVE  THE  YANKEES?' 


473 


conscious  of  his  approaching  death.  'Ben,'  said  the  dying 
man  to  his  comrade,  'all  is  right  with  me — I  am  happy; 
but  before  I  die,  let  me  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  you 
become  a  Catholic'  Ben  willingly  consented  to  what  ho 
had  before  resolved  on  doing,  and  he  was  received  into 
the  Church  in  the  presence  of  his  dying  friend,  over  whose 
features  there  stole  a  sweet  smile,  that  did  not  depart  even 
ill  death. 

'Oh,  my  God!  what's  that!  what's  that!'  shrieked  a  poor 
Southern  boy,  when  he  first  saw  a  Sister,  as  she  loaned  over 
his  hospital  pallet.  His  terror  was  equalled  only  by  his 
genuine  horror  when  he  discovered  she  was  a  Catholic. 
Soon,  however,  his  eyes  would  wander  round  the  ward  in 
search  of  the  nurse  with  the  sweet  smile,  the  gentle  voice, 
and  the  gentler  word.  Like  many  of  his  class  he  was 
utterly  ignorant  of  religion  of  any  description  ;  he  disliked 
'Papists,'  and  he  thought  that  sufficed  for  every  spiritual 
purpose.  At  length  he  wished  to  be  baptised  in  the 
Sister's  faith,  and  his  instruction  was  commenced.  He 
was  told  he  should  forgive  his  enemies.  '  Am  I  to  forgive 
the  Yankees  ? '  he  asked,  with  indignant  eagerness.  '  Cer- 
tainly,' replied  the  ^Sister,  'you  must  forgive  everybody.' 
'Ma'am,  no — not  the  Yankees! — no,  ma'am — not  the  Yan- 
kees!— I  can't.'  'But  you  must  forgive  your  enemies, 
or  you  can't  be  a  Christian.  God  forgave  those  who  put 
him  to  death,'  persisted  the  Sister.  'Well,  Sister,  as  you 
ask  me  lo  do  it,  I  will  forgive  the  Yankees ;  but  'tis  hard 
to  do  it  though,  I  tell  you.' 

'Before  we  left  Vicksburg  to  attend  the  hospitals,'  says 
a  Sister,  'many  of  the  Irish  soldiers  returned  dreadfully 
wounded  from  the  battle  of  Shiloli,  where  our  pastor,  who 
had  gone  to  assist  their  dying  moments,  said  they  had 
fought,  "not  Hke  men,  but  like  indomitable  lions."  Wo 
had  many  brave  Irish  patients,  but  our  principal  expe- 
rience in  hospital  Inv  nrnnnfi'st  Creoles  ov  soldiers  from 
the  country  parts  of  the  South,  whose  horror  of  Sisters  at 


474 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


C9 


i' 


■•i 


first  (grounded  on  tlioir  ignorance),  formed  a  strange  con- 
trast  to  tlioir  sul)seqnont  grateful  allbction.' 

•They  Bhrank  from  us  with  looks  of  horror  and  loathing 
as  if  we  were  something  full  of  evil,'  remarked  a  Sister,' 
whose  name  was  famous  for  skill,  and  an  energy  that  ex- 
cited the  amazement  of  those  who  beheld  her  in  the 
management  of  a  groat  hospital.  Many  a  letter,  replete 
with  gratitude  and  veneration,  came  to  that  Sister  from  all 
parts  of  the  States,  North  and  South,  and  not  a  few  from 
those  who  at  first  regarded  her  'with  looks  of  horror  and 
loathing,  as  if  she  were  full  of  evil.' 

The  doctors  were  not  one   whit  behind  the  humblest 
soldiers  in  ignorant  dislike  of  the  Sisters. 

A  Federal  doctor  was  at  first  inclined  to  be  rude  and 
uncivil  to  the  Sisters  in  the  crowded  Southern  hospital, 
then  in  possession  of  the  forces  of  the  Union,  and  occasioned 
them  no  little  anxiety  by  his   manner,  it  was  so   full  of 
evident  disHko  and  suspicion.     They  wisely  took  no  notice 
of  it,  but  devoted  themselves  the  more  sedulously  to  their 
arduous  duties.     At  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,  by  which  time 
his  manner  had  become  kind  and  respectful,  the  doctor 
candidly  confessed  to  one  of  the  Sisters  what  his  feelings 
had  been,   and  how  completely  they   were   changed.     'I 
had  such  an  aversion  to  Catholics,'  said  he,  'that  I  would 
rot  tolerate  one  of  them  in  an  hospital  with  me.     I  had 
heard  of  the  Sisters,  but  I  was  resolved  not  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  them  in  any  place  in  which  1  had  control. 
I  confess  to  you  my  mind  is  entirely  changed  ;  and  so  far 
from  not  wishing  to  have  Sisters  in  nn  hospital  where  I 
am,  I  never  want  to  be  in  an  hospital  where  they  are  not.' 
The  officials  were,  if  possible,  still  more  suspicious,  still 
more  jDrejudiced. 

'I  used  to  be  up  at  night  watching  you,  when  I  should 
have  been  in  my  bed.  I  wanted  to  see  what  mischief  you 
were  after,  for  I  thought  you  had  some  bad  motive  or 
object,  and  I   was   determined  "to  know  what  it  was.     I 


jtrange  con- 

nd  loathing, 

ed  a  Sister, 

rgy  that  ex- 

her  in   tho 

bter,  replete 

ster  from  all 

a  few  from 

horror  and 

e  humblest 

B  rude  and 
•n  hospital, 
[  occasioned 
1  so  full  of 
k  no  notice 
sly  to  their 
which  time 
the  doctor 
bis  feelings 
langed.     'I 
lat  I  would 
ne.     I  had 
'  have  any- 
ad  control, 
and  so  far 
al  where  I 
3y  are  not.' 
icious,  still 

in  I  should 
Lschief  you 
motive  or 
it  was.     I 


PIIEJUDICKS  CONQUEliED. 


475 


could  find  nothing  wrong,  but  it  was  a  long  time  before  I 
could  believe  in  you,  my  prejudice  against  you  was  so 
strong.  Now  I  can  laugh  at  my  absurd  suspicions,  and  I 
don't  care  tolling  you  of  my  nonsense.'  Tliis  speech  was 
made  by  the  steward  of  an  hospital  to  Sisters  to  whom  he 
had  given  much  trouble  by  his  manner,  which  seemed  *to 
imply — 'You  are  humbugs,  and  I'll  find  you  out,  my 
ladies !  clever  as  you  think  you  are.'  He  was  a  good  but 
prejudiced  man  ;  and  once  that  he  was  convinced  how 
groundless  were  his  suspicions,  he  not  only  treated  the 
Sisters  with  marked  respect,  but  became  one  of  their 
most  strenuous  and  valuable  supporters. 

A  doctor  of  the  Federal  service,  who  was  captured  at 
the  battle  of  Shiloh,  said  to  a  Catholic  bishop, — 'Bishop, 
I  was  a  great  bigot,  and  I  hated  the  Catholics ;  but  my 
opinions  are  changed  since  this  war.  I  have  seen  no 
animosity,  but  fraternal  love,  in  the  conduct  of  the  priests 
of  both  sides.  I  have  seen  the  same  kind  offices  rendered 
without  distinction  to  Catholic  soldiers  of  the  North  and 
South.  The  very  opposite  with  Protestant  chaplains  and 
soldiers.' 

'  What  conclusion  did  you  draw  from  this  ? — these  Cath- 
olics are  not  Freemasons/  said  the  Bishop. 

'Well,'  replied  the  doctor,  'I  drew  this  from  it — that 
there  must  be  some  wonderful  unity  in  Catholicity  which 
nothing  can  destroy,  not  even  the  passions  of  war.' 

'A  very  right  inference,'  was  the  Bishop's  rejoinder. 

An  officer  who  was  brought  in  wounded  to  an  hospital 
at  Obanninville,  near  Pensacola,  which  was  under  the  care 
of  Sisters,  asked  a  friend  in  the  same  hospital  what  he 
would  call  'those  women' — how  address  them?  'Call 
them  "  Sisters,"  replied  his  friend.  '  Sisters !  They  are 
no  sisters  of  mine  ;  I  should  be  sorry  they  were.'  '  I  tell 
you,  you  will  find  them  as  good  as  sisters  in  the  hour  of 
need.'  'I  don't  believe  it,'  muttered  the  surly  patient. 
Owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  care  of  his  good  nurses. 


I 


) 

•  ti 


<  'i 


476 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEUIUA. 


the  officer  was  Honn  able  to  leave  the  hospital  htvong  in 
body  as  well  as  iinprovod  in  mind.  IJcforo  he  was  well 
enouj^h  to  leave,  he  said  to  his  friend, — '  Look  here  !  I  was 
always  an  enemy  to  the  Catholic  Chnrch.  I  wjih  led  to 
believe  by  the  preachers  that  these  Sisters — both  nnns 
and  priests — were  all  bad.  But  when  I  get  out  of  this, 
I  be  Ct(u1  darned,  if  I  don't  knock  the  first  man  head  over 
heels  who  dares  say  a  word  against  the  Sisters  in  my  pres- 
ence ! '     He  was  rough,  but  thoroughly  honest. 

During  the  war,  a  number  of  the  Sisters  wcsre  on  their 
way  to  an  hospital,  to  the  care  of  which  they  had  been 
urgently  called,  and,  as  the  train  remained  stationary  at 
one  of  the  stopping-places  on  the  route,  their  dress  excited 
the  wonder  and  ridicule  of  some  thoughtless  idlers,  who 
entered  the  car  and  seated  themselves  opposite  to,  but 
near,  the  olyjects  of  their  curiosity,  at  whom  they  looked 
and  spoke  in  a  manner  far  fi'om  complimentary.  The 
Sisters  bore  the  annoyonce  unflinchingly.  But  there  was 
assistance  nearer  than  they  or  their  cowardly  tormentors 
supposed.  A  stout  man,  bronzed  and  bearded,  who  had 
been  sitting  at  one  end  of  the  car,  quietly  advanced,  and 
placing  himself  in  front  of  the  ill-mannered  offenders, 
said,  'Look  here,  my  lads!  You  don't  know  who  these 
ladies  are  ;  I  do.  And  if  you  had  been,  like  me,  lying 
sick  and  wounded  on  an  hospital  bed,  and  been  tended 
night  and  day  by  those  ladies,  as  I  was,  you'd  then  know 
them  and  respect  them  as  well  as  I  do.  They  are  holy 
women.  And  now,  if  you  don't,  every  one  of  you,  at  once 
quit  this  car,  I'll  call  the  conductor,  and  have  you  turned 
out ;  and  if  you  say  one  word  more,  I'll  whip  you  all  when 
I  have  you  outside,'  The  young  fellows  shrank  away 
abashed,  as  much  perhaps  at  the  justice  of  the  rebuke  as 
at  the  evident  power  by  which,  if  necessary,  it  would 
have  been  rendered  still  more  impressive. 

It  was  a  touching  sight  to  witness  the  manner  in  which 
soldiers  who  had  experienced  flie  devotedness  of  the  Sisters 


AN  EMrilATlU  REBUKE. 


477 


fitrong  ill 
I  wiiH  well 
ro !  I  wiiH 
v'JiH  lod  to 
Dotli  iiniiH 
it  of  this, 

lioiid  over 
1  my  pros- 

3  on  their 

luul  been 
tionary  at 
3SS  excited 
Hers,  who 
to  to,  but 
ley  looked 
iry.  The 
there  was 
ormentors 

who  had 
meed,  and 

offenders, 
svho  these 
me,  lying 
en  tended 
hen  know 
■  are  holy 
u,  at  once 
oil  turned 
I  all  when 
ank  away 
rebuke  as 

it  would 

in  which 
;he  Sisters 


to  the  sad  duties  of  the  hospital,  exhibited  their  veneration 
for  these 'holy  women.'  Did  the  Siste'rs  happen  to  bo  in 
the  same  car  with  the  gallant  fellows,  there  was  not  one  of 
them  who  did  not  proller  his  place  to  the  Sister,  and  who 
did  not  feel  honoured  by  her  acceptance  of  it.  Maimed, 
lopped  of  limb,  scarcely  convalescent,  still  there  was  not  a 
crippled  brave  of  them  who  would  not  eagerly  solicit  the 
Sister  to  occupy  the  place  he  so  much  recpiircd  for  himself, 
*  Sister,  do  take  my  seat ;  it  is  the  most  comfortable.' 
'  Oh,  Sister,  tnko  mine  ;  do  oblige  me.'  *  No,  Sister  !  mine.' 
Sweet  was  the-  Sister's  reward  as,  in  their  feeble  but  earnest 
tones  of  entreaty,  and  the  smiles  lighting  up  pale  wan 
faces,  she  read  the  deep  gratitude  of  the  men  who  had  bled 
for  what  each  deemed  to  be  the  sacred  cause  of  country. 
Wherever  the  Sister  went,  she  brought  with  her  an  atmo- 
sphere of  holiness.  At  the  first  sight  of  the  little  glazed 
cap,  or  the  Hupping  cornet,  or  the  dark  robe,  or  at  the 
whisper  that  the  Sister  was  coming  or  present,  even  the 
profane  and  the  ribald  were  hushed  into  decent  silence. 

As  a  company  of  Confederate  prisoners  were  marched 
through  Washington,  a  Sister  of  Mercy  who  was  passing 
was  arrested  by  the  exclamation,  '  There  she  is  !  That's 
she  !  I  owe  my  life  to  her.  She  attended  me  in  the  hos- 
pital. Oh,  Sister ! '  The  Sister  approached,  and  as  the 
prisoners  were  passing,  the  one  who  used  these  words  rap- 
idly dropped  something  into  her  hand.  It  was  less  than 
the  widow's  mite — it  was  a  regimental  button  !  But  it  was 
accepted  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  otYered.  as  a  memo- 
rial ;  and  as  such,  I  know,  it  is  cherished. 

A  Baptist  preacher  was  rather  unexpectedly  rebuked  in 
the  midst  of  his  congregation  by  one  of  its  members  who 
had  experience  of  the  Sisters  in  the  hospital.  Addressing 
his  audience,  ho  thought  to  enliven  his  discourse  with  the 
customary  spice — vigorous  abuse  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  a  lively  description  of  the  badness  of  nuns  and  priests  ; 
in  fact,  takincf  the  Awful  Disclosures  of  Maria  Monk  as  hie 


^M^r  I 


1., 


178 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


n 

I 


.•} 


< 


text  and  inspiration.     But  juHt  as  Iho  i)rca('lior,  wannirif,' 
with  luH  own  oltxiuonco,  was  hoi^'litoniiif^  his  picturo  witli 
colourH  borrowod  from  a  rathor  pniii(!nt  imagination.  thoHo 
8tranf]^o  words  wero  thundered  forth  by  a  Htnrdy  Wostorn 
farmer,   who  wprang  to  his  leg's  in   an  inii)nlHe  of  uncon- 
trollable  indignation, — *  Sir,    that's   a   dimned  lie  I '     The 
consternation   of  the  audience  was  great,  the  excitement 
intense.      The    preacher    solemnly    reminded    his    erring 
brother  that   that  was  *tho  lumso   of  God.'     'Well,    sir,' 
rei)lied  the  farmer,  '  as  it  is  tlio  house  of  God,  it  is  a  lie 
without  the  damned.'     Then  looking  round  boldly  at  the 
meeting,   which   contained   many  to   whom  he    was   well 
known,  he  thus  continued  :  '  I  thought  and  behoved  the 
same  as  you  thought  and  believed,  because  I  was  told  so, 
as  you  were ;  but  I  have  lived  to  learn  the  ditference— to 
know  that  what  we  were  told,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  is  not 
true.     I  was  in  the  prison  at  M'Dowall's  College;  I  was 
there  for  six  months  ;  and  I  saw  the  Sisters  waiting  on  the 
prisoners,  and  nursing  the  sick — unpaid  and  disinterested. 
I  saw  them  giving  up  their  whole  time  to  doing  good,  and 
doing  it  without  fee  or   reward.     I   saw  the  priests,  too, 
constant  in  their  attendance — yes,  shaming  other  ministers 
by  the  manner  in  which   they  did  their   duty.     That  six 
months  cured  me  of  my  folly;  and  I  tell  you,  you  know 
me  to  be  a  man  of  truth,  that  the  Cathohc  Church  is  not 
the  thing  it  is  represented  to  be,  and  that   Sisters  and 
Priests  are  not  what  our  minister  says  they  are  ;  and  tluit 
I'll  stand  to.' 

The  sympathies  of  the  audience  went  with  the  rprr  ..^1 
ness  of  the  speaker,  whose  manner  carried  conviction  to 
their  minds;  and  so  strongly  did  the  tide  of  feeling  flow 
against  the  preacher,  that  he  dexterously  returned  to  what, 
in  Parliamentarv  phrase,  may  be  described  as  *  the  previous 
question.' 

Not  very  li  'j^,   before  I  visited  a  place  in  Tennessee,  a 
delegation  from  u  district  in  which  there  w^as  not  a  single 


'WK  WANT  TO  BKCOME  CATHOLICS.' 


479 


e  :  and  that 


the  ^;i',!M\jbt 


Catholic  waited  on  an  IhhIi  priont  of  my  acquaintance; 
thtiir  object  bcinj:  to  consult  with  him  an  to  the  tVasihihty 
of  buiUlinf,'  a  Catholic  church  in  the  place.  'A  CathoUc 
clinrch!'  exclaimed  the  priest,  'what  can  you  want  of  a 
Catholic  church,  and  not  a  Catholic  in  the  i)lace?'  The 
answer  was  remarkable  :  *We  here  are  all  ex-soldiers,  and 
have  been  in  the  war;  and  when  we  returned,  the  preachers 
— Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and  others — asked  us  to  join 
their  clnirchca,  as  before.  We  said  nothing  at  the  time,  but 
held  a  meetings,  and  sent  this  reply  :  "  Before  the  war, 
you  told  us  that  Catholics  were  capable  of  comniitting 
every  crime  ;  that  priests  and  nuns  were  all  bad  alike. 
We  went  to  the  war  ;  we  were  in  hosj)itals,  and  we  met 
members  of  our  own  society  there  ;  but  the  only  persons 
who  did  anything  for  us,  or  cared  anything  about  us,  were 
these  same  Catholics,  the  Priests  and  Sisters  that  you  so 
represented  to  us.  Wo  were  in  the  prisons  of  the  North, 
and  it  was  the  same.  Now  what  you  told  us  about  Cath- 
olics was  not  true.  ^  Wo  can't  have  any  further  confidence 
in  you,  and  we  will  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  you.  If 
we  be  anything,  we  will  be  Catholics."  That  was  our 
reply  ;  and  we  now  come  to  consult  a  Catholic  priest,  to 
see  how  best  we  may  carry  out  our  intentions,  and  become 
Catholics. 

The  above  I  give,  not  because  it  is  the  most  remarkable 
of  such  applications,  which  are  very  numerous,  and  are 
constantly  made  in  many  dioceses  throughout  the  States. 
The  majority  of  another  such  'delegation'  told  the  bishop 
on  whom  they  waited  that  they  had  been  strong  Know 
Nothings  before  the  war ;  and  one  of  them  declared  that 
he  had  assisted  to  '  tar  and  feather '  a  priest,  and  that  in 
so  doing  he  thought  he  was  doing  a  service  to  God !  *  W^e 
don't  know  what  the  doctrines  of  your  Church  are  ;  these 
we  desire  to  learn  ;  but  thougli  we  don't  know  its  doc- 
trines, wx'  have  seen  its  conduct  during  the  war,  and  that 
conduct  we  admired. 


480 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ff9 


mi 

I'-.i 


1 


-■^itm 


;is«i 


< 


i 


TLat  tho  Histers— those  truost  expoiientR  of  Catliolio 
charity —will  tho  respect  of  ProtoF^aiits  at  other  timen 
tliau  (Inrijij^.  ^yar,  aiul  in  tho  ordinary  dischar^^o  of  their 
duty,  wo  have  a  proof  in  tho  following,'  incident : — 

Tlio  Archbishop  of  San    Francisco  and   other   Cathohc 
bishops  were   on  their  way  to  tho  Council  of  Baltimore ; 
and   as  the   bishops  and  the  cler<,'y  by  whom   they  were 
accompanied  desired  to  have  the  use  of  an  apartment  or 
cabin,   in   which    IMass    could    be    daily   v>ffered    up,    th($ 
Archbishop  made  a  request  to  that  elTect  to  the  Captain 
of  the  vessel,  who  thus  replied  :    *  Archbishop,  tliers  arc 
twenty  preachers  on  board  who  asked  ine  to  allow  them 
to  preach,  and  I  have  refused  them,  because  they  would 
create  nothing  but   confusion.      But,  Archbishop,  thouo-li 
I  am  an  Episcopalian,  I  am  much  obliged   to  you.      Tho 
yellow  fever  broke  out  in  my  crew,  and  my  ministers  de- 
serted me  ;  but  you  sent  the  Sisters,  and  they  came  and 
nursed  my  men   all  through  their  sickness.     I  never  can 
forgot  it ;  and  whatever  I  can  do  for  a  Catholic  bishop  or 
for  the  Sisters,  I  will  do  most  gladl}^      You  shall  have  the 
room,  Archbishop.' 

And  as  these  words  are  written,  the  same  terrible  scourge 
is  thinning  the  ranks  of  the  Sisters  in  Ngw  Orleans,  many 
of  whom  luive  fallen  martyrs  to  their  zeal  and  duty. 

A  Southern  General  said  to  me,  'The  war  has  worn 
away  many  a  prejudice  against  Catholics,  such  was  the 
exemplary  conduct  of  the  priests  in  the  camp  and  tho 
hospital,  and  the  Christian  attitude  of  the  Church  during 
the  whole  of  the  struggle.  Many  kind  and  generous  acts 
were  done  by  tho  priests  to  persecuted  ladies,  who  now 
tell  with  gratitude  of  their  services.  Wherever  an  asyliun 
was  required,  they  found  it  for  them.  I  wish  all  ministers 
had  been  like  tho  priests,  and  we  might  never  have  had 
this  war,  or  it  would  not  have  been  so  bitter  as  it  was.' 

I  elsewhere  mentioned  the  munificent  mii  made  bv  two 
Protestant  gentlemen  to   a  Sister   in  Cincinnati ;  and  us 


SISTER  ANTHONY. 


481 


=!  of  CatlioHo 
i  othor  times 
lar^o  of  thoir 
it:— 

tlior   Catholic 
3f  Baltimore ; 
•m   they  were 
apartment  or 
n-ed    up,    tho 
»  the  Caj)tai]i 
op,  tlioro  arc 
o  allow  them 
3  they  would 
shop,  thouo-h 
o  you.      Tho 
ministers  de- 
ey  came  and 
I  never  can 
lie  bishop  or 
liall  have  the 

rible  scourge 
'rleans,  many 
hity. 

ar  has  worn 
ich  was  the 
mp  and  tho 
Lurcli  during 
onerous  acts 
3s,  who  now 
3r  an  asylum 
all  ministers 
er  have  had 
it  was.' 
nado  bv  two 
lati ;  and  aa 


that  munificent  gift— of   a  splendid  hospital— is  Imt  one, 
though   a   striking  proof  of  the  influence  Avhich  the  work 
of  the  Sisters  has  had  on  the  enlightened  Prot(>stant  min<l 
of  America,  something  may  be  said  of  the  o])ject  of  that 
donation.     There   is   nothing  remarkable  in  tlio  personal 
appearance  of  Sister  Anthony— nothing  of  the  stately  or 
the  majestic— nothing  that  harmonises  with  the  romantic 
or  the  poetical.     Sister  Anthony  is  sallow  in  complexion, 
worn  in  feature,  but  with  a  bright  intelligent  look,  and  an 
air  of  genuine  goodness.     Though  tlioroughly  unaffected 
in  manner,  and  without  the  faintest  trace  of  shov.%  every 
word  she  utters  betrays  an  animating  spirit  of  piety,  an 
ever-present  consciousness  of  her  mission— which  is,  to  do 
good.    One  feels  better  in  her  presence,  Hfted  up,  as  it  were, 
into  a  purer  and  brighter  atmosphere.     In  accent  and  man- 
ner she  is  strongly  American ;  and  had  I  not  been  assured 
by  herself  that  she  was  born  in  Ireland— somewhere,  I  be- 
lieve, between  Limerick  and  Tipperary— I  should  have  taken 
her  for  a  'full-blooded  American,'  that  is,  if  Sister  Anthony 
could  be  taken  for  a  'full-blooded'  anything.     For  a  con- 
siderable time  Sister  Anthony  held  a  subordinate  position, 
to  which  she  thoroughly  adapted  herself ;  but  it  was  im- 
possible she  could  continue  to  conceal  her  great  natural 
ability  and  talents  for  organisation  and  management.     Her 
first  important  work  was  the  establishment  of  the  Hospital 
of  St.  John,  which  became  so  famous  and  so  popular  under 
her  management,  that  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of 
Cincinnati  sent  their  patients  to  her  care.     In  this  hospital 
Sister  Anthony  made  herself  perfect  in  the  science  of  nursing 
the  sick.     When  the  war  broke  out,  she,  with  twelve  Sisters, 
took  charge  of  the  Field  Hospital  of  the  Armies  of  tho 
Cumberland  and  the  Tennessee,  and  nursed  tho  wounded 
and  the  sick  in  the  South  and  South-West  during  its  con- 
tinuance.    Such  was  tl^  estimate  formed  of  tho  services 
of  these  and  other  Sisters  of  the  same  institution,  as  well 
as  of  the  Catholic  Chaplains,  that  the  Generals  in  com- 

21 


.482 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


SI 


V^>x^ 


mand  frequently  wrote  to  Arclibisliop  Purcell,  asking  for 
•  more  Priests  and  more  Sisters,  they  were  so  full  of  devo- 
tion to  their  duty.'     Nearly  aU  of  those  Sisters  were,  like 
Sister  Anthony,  Irish.     Her  influence  was  immense.     Even 
the   surliest  official  or   stiffest  martinet  could  not  resist 
Sister  Anthony.     There  was  a  contagion  in  her  goodness. 
Some  years  before,  when  in  a  subordinate  capacity  in  the 
Orphan  Asylum  under  the  care  of  her  Order,  Sister  An- 
thony was  in  the  market,  bargaining  for  chickens  to  make 
broth  for  some  sick  children,  when  the  salesman,  perhaps 
wearied  of  her  importunity,  said— 'If  you  were  a  pretty 
woman,   I'd  talk  to  you  longer ;  but  you    are   so   darnd 
"gly,  you  may  go  your  ways,  and  take  the  chickens  at  your 
own  price.'    Sister  Anthony,  who  never  gave  a  thought  to 
her  personal  appearance,  good-humouredly  accepted  the 
comphment  which  ensured  her  a  profitable  bargain  for  her 
poor  httle  chicks  in  the  asylum.     But  the  wounded  sol- 
dier on  the  hospital  pallet  was  not  of  the  fowl -merchant's 
opinion ;  the  sick  man  saw  everything  good  and  beautiful 
in  the  countenance  of  the  nurse  who  smoothed  his  pillow 
with  hand  light   as  a  feather's  weight,   and,   with  voice 
attuned  to  the  tenderest  compassion,  won  him  to  hope  and 
resignation.     At  the  mere  whisper  of  the  name  of  Sister 
Anthony,  the   eye   of  the  invahd  brightened,  and  a  pale 
flush  stole  over  his  wasted  cheek ;  and  when  it  was  men- 
tioned in  the  presence  of  strong  men,  it  was  received  with 
a  hearty  blessing  or  a  vigorous   cheer.     Protestant  and 
Catholic  alike  reverenced  Sister  Anthony.     There  was  no 
eulogium  too  exaggerated  for  her  praise,  or  for  their  grati- 
tude.    She  was  stylea  '  the  Ministering  Angel  of  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee,'  and  Protestants  hailed  her  as  'an  angel 
of  goodness.'     And  at  a  grand  re-union,  in  November  1800, 
of  the  generals  and  ofiicers  of  the  army  in  whose  hospitals 
Sister  Anthony  had  served,  her  name  was  greeted  with  en- 
thusiastic applause  by  gallant  and  grateful  men. 
The  United  States  Marine  Hospital,  constructed  at  a 


I,  asking  for 
full  of  devo- 
irs were,  like 
lense.     Even 
d  not  resist 
er  goodness, 
pacity  in  the 
',  Sister  An- 
iens to  make 
aan,  perliajis 
3re  a  pretty 
'e   so   darnd 
iens  at  your 
.  thought  to 
ccepted  the 
jain  for  her 
ounded  soi- 
l-merchant's 
ad  beautiful 
d  his  pillow 
with   voice 
to  hope  and 
le  of  Sister 
and  a  pale 
t  was  men- 
iceived  with 
testant  and 
ere  was  no 
their  grati- 
f  the  Army 
J  *an  angel 
inber  1800, 
3e  hospitals 
3d  with  en- 

icted  at  a 


SISTER  ANTHONY.  ^gg 

70,000  doUars,  at  which   price    it   was  purchased   by  two 
Protestant  gentlemen,  and  by  them    '  donated '   to    Sister 
Anthony,  and  is  known  by  the  beautiful  and  fehcitous  title 
the  Hospital  of  the  Good  Samaritan.'     This  fine  institu- 
tion is  now  at   the   service   of  the  sick  and  suffering  of 
Cmcmnati.     These   generous   Protestant   gentlemen   were 
known  to  Sister  Anthony,  and  she  to  them.      Some  time 
before,  It  was  her  intention  to  build,  and  in  the  course  of 
a  few  months  she  obtained  30,000  dollars   to    aid  her   in 
her  task.     But,  changing  her  mind,  from  not  wishing  to 
undertake  so  great  a  work  as  she  at  first  contemplated,  she 
determmcd  to  refund  every  dollar  of  the  money.     When 
she  came  to  those  two  gentlemen,  she  tendered  to  them 
their  hberal  subscription  ;    but  they  refused  to  accept  it 
saying:    'No;    we   gave  at   to   God.     We   cannot  take  it 

Sister  Anthony  is  not  insensible  to  the  influence  she 
exercises,  as  the  foUowing  brief  dialogue  will  show  •- 

Szster  Anthony  (to  a  friend  J.  I  guess  I  want  this  hospital 
pam  ed.  I  guess  Mr.  -^  (mentioning  the  name  of  a 
worthy  citizen)  will  paint  it. 

Friend.    Why.   sister!     he    is  not  a  painter;    he  is  a 

grocer.  '  " 

Siller  Anlhomj.   I  tnow  that,  child ;  but  he  is  a  rich  man 
and  he  will  have  to  paint  it. 

And  it  was  just  as  Sister  Anthony  said.     He  had  to  paint 
it,^and  he  felt  honoured  by  the  distinction  conferred  upon 

One  day  Sister  Anthony  was  transacting  some  business 
m  the  city  with  the  prosperous  owner  of  a  large  store. 
\Vhen  the  busmess  was  concluded,  the  owner  said  :  'Sister 
whore  IS  your  conveyance-your  horse  and  buggy_to  take 

«.  -store-4-  ^Tfe  1:fn^e- fHr  X  tt 


484 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■rsm 


i 


^C 


last  fifty  yecars  is  still  very  good,  but  the  horses  want 
shoeing,'  answered  Sister  Anthony,  pointing  to  her  shoes, 
which  were  in  the  very  last  stage  in  which  that  {irticl^  of 
dress  could  possa)ly  exist.  A  box  of  the  best  shoes  was  at 
once  supplied  to  Sister  Anthony's  well-employed  '  horses.' 

I  present  Sister  Anthony  only  as  a  type,  not  of  her  ovv-n 
noble  Order,  but  of  all  idndred  Orders  ;  for,  throughout 
the  United  States,  there  are  hundreds  of  Sister  Anthonys, 
who,  like  her,  have  been  styled  'ministering  angels,'  and 
'  angels  of  goodness ; '  at  the  mention  of  whose  honoured 
names  blessings  rise  from  the  hearts  to  the  lips  of  grateful 
men,  and  mothers  in  distant  homes  pray  at  night  for  those 
who  nursed  their  wounded  sons  in  the  hospital,  or  minis- 
tered to  them  in  the  prison. 

Whether  in  the  hospital  and  the  prison,  qy  on  the  field 
of  battle,  the  Catholic  Chaplain  won  the  respect  of  all 
classes  and  ranks  of  men.  I  have  heard  soldiers  of  world- 
wide fame  speak  with  enthusiasm  of  the  gallantry  and 
devotion  of  the  Cathohc  Mihtary  Chaplains,  who  calmly 
performed  their  duty  amidst  the  fury  of  conflict,  and  while 
bullets  whistled  by  them,  and  shells  shrieked  as  they 
passed  over  their  heads.  The  idea  of  danger  may  cross 
the  mind  of  the  Catholic  priest,  but  it  never  deters  him 
from  the  diy^harge  of  his  duty,  which  is  performed  as 
coolly  on  the  battle-field  as  in  the  wards  of  an  hospital. 
Soldier  of  the  Cross,  he  encounters  danger  in  every  form 
and  under  every  aspect.  AVithout  departing  in  the  least 
from  his  ordinary  course,  or  making  the  slightest  attempt 
at  display,  the  Catholic  Priest— so  long  the  object  of  the 
foulest  calumny  and  the  most  disgusting  ribaldry— found 
in  the  events  of  the  war  daily  opportunities  of  exhibiting 
himself  in  his  true  hght ;  and  soon  was  suspicion  changed 
into  confidence,  and  prejudice  into  respect.  Unswerving 
attention  to  duty  is  the  grand  characteristic  of  the  Cathohc 
priest  !  and  when  the  non-Catholic  officer  or  private  found 
the  priest  always  at  his  post,  attending  on  the  siek,  raising 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHAPLAIN. 


485 


horses  want 
o  her  shoes, 
at  article  of 
shoes  was  at 
(1  '  horses.' 
of  her  ovv'ii 
throuijfhout 
3r  Anthonys, 
angels,'  and 
se  honoured 
i  of  grateful 
ht  for  those 
il,  or  niinis- 

on  the  field 
spect  of  all 
rs  of  world- 
illantry  and 
who  calmly 
it,  and  while 
:ed  as  they 
r  may  cross 

deters  him 
3rformed  as 
an  hospital. 

every  form 
in  the  least 
best  attempt 
bject  of  the 
Idry — found 
•f  exhibiting 
ion  changed 
Unswerving 
the  CathoHc 
■ivate  found 
siek,  raising 


the  drooping  spirits  of  the  patient,  preparing  the  dying 
for  their  last  hour,  he  could  not  help  contrasting  the  un- 
tiring devotion  of  the  Catholic  Chaplain  with  the  lax  zeal 
—if  zeal  it  could  be  called— of  too  many  of  those  who 
assumed  that  office,  or  that  distinctive  title,  durixig  the 
war.  When  men  are  stretched  on  a  sick  bed,  and  they 
depend  so  entirely  for  assistance  or  rehef  on  the  attention 
and  kindness  of  those  around  them,  they  form  rapid  and 
unerring  estimates  of  merit ;  and  if  they  cannot  be  deceived 
by  the  sham  nurse  or  the  worthless  physician,  neither 
can  they  be  hoodwinked  by  pharisaical  cant  or  religion. s 
pretension.  The  genuine  metal  was  tested  in  the  fire  of 
the  crucible,  and  was  admitted  to  be  sterling. 

Throughout   the  war   the   Catholic   priest   acted   in  the 
spirit   of  his   Church.     The   Church   was   a  peace-maker, 
not  a  partisan.     So  were  her  ministers.     It  little  mattered 
to  the   priest   at    which    side    the   wounded    soldier    had 
fought,    or  in   what   cause   the   prisoner  had   been   made 
captive;  it  was  sufficient  for  him  to  know  that  the  sick 
and  the  imprisoned  stood  in  need  of  his  assistance,  which 
he  never  failed  to  afford.     The  Church  deplored  the  out- 
break of  war,  mourned  over  its  horrors,  and  prayed  for  its 
cessation.     As  with  the  Church,  so  with  the  priest.     It  is 
not  in  human  nature  to  suppose  that  the  Catholic  priests 
did  not  feel  a  sympathy^  with  one  side  or  the  other  ;  but 
no  weakness  common  to  humanity  could  deaden  the  feel- 
ing of    charity,   which   is   the   living  principle   of  Catho- 
licity; and  while  the  Federr'  Chaplain  ministered  to  the 
Confederate  soldier  or  prisoner,  the  Confederate  Chaplain 
ministered  with  equal  care  and    sohcitude  to  the  soldier 
who  fought  under  the  banner  of  the  Union.     This  CathoHo 
cnarity — this  spiritual  bridging  over  of  the  yawning  gulf 
of  raging  passions— produced  a  deep  impression    on    the 
minds  of  thoughtful  men.     Many  instances  might  be  told 
of  the  manner  in  which  this  feeling  operated  on  the  minds 
of  individuals ;  one  will  suffice  : 


486 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


*R? 


•J 

■m 


.3 


on 


! 


A  lawyer  of  Louisiana  was  practising  in  Missouri  at  the 
opening  of  the  war;  and  being  known  as  a  Confederate 
sympathiser,  was  arrested,  and  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Fort 
Warren,    in    E  ^ston    Harbor.      He    had    studied  law   in 
Boston,  where  he  imagined  he  had  made  several  lasting 
friends  of  members  of  his  profession.     Taking  means  to 
communicate  with  some  of  those  on  whom  he  most  relied 
for  sympathy,  if  not  for  assistance,  he  informed  them  of 
his   position,    and    besought    their   aid,    in   the    name   of 
friendship  and  the  memory  of  the   pleasant  days  of  the 
past ;  but  he  appealed  in  vain — fear  of  being  compromised 
by  a  suspected  rebel,  or  the  bitter  prejudice  born  of  the 
hour,  was  too  strong  to  be  overcome  by  a  momentary  im- 
pulse;  and  the  prisoner  languished  in  captivity.     They — 
the  friends  of  his  youth — came  not;   but  an  Irish  priest 
did.     Attracted  to  the  prisoner  by  feelings  of  compassion, 
he  comforted  and  consoled  him,  and  assisted  him  to  the 
utmost  of  his  means  and  influence.     That  lawyer  learned 
to  love    the  Church  of  which   that  priest  was  a  worthy 
minister  ;  and  his  own  words  may  throw  light  on  his  con- 
version,  which  took  place    soon    after  : — 'Looking    back 
upon   the  war,  I  see  that  the   Protestants  of  the  North 
were  charitable  to  their  own  side,  and  that  the  Protestants 
of  the  South  were  very  charitable  to  their  side;   but  the 
Catholics  are  the  only  body  of  Christians  who  practised 
charity  ybr  its  own  sake,  irrespective  of  politics,  and  who 
did  so  even  when  it  was  unpopular,  if  not  dangerous  for 
them  to  do  so.' 

The  lawyer  who  languished  in  the  prison  of  Boston 
Harbor  was  not  the  only  one  who  experienced  the  value 
of  a  charity  which  has  neither  sect  nor  party,  and  knew  no 
difference  between  cause  or  banner  in  that  hour  of  national 
convulsion. 

There  was  one  other  influence,  potent  in  dispelling  the 
dark  preiudices  imbibed  in  infancv,  and  fostered  bv  fana- 
tical  teachers  ;  this  was  the  faith,  the  piety,  the  resignation 


souri  at  the 
Confederate 
)ncr  to  Fort 
;lied  law  in 
ieral  lasting 
ig  means  to 
most  relied 
ed  tliem  of 
e  name  of 
days  of  the 
omj)romised 
born  of  the 
iientary  im- 
ty.  They— 
Irish  priest 
compassion, 

him  to  the 
yev  learned 
s  a  worthy 

on  his  con- 
oking  back 
'  the  North 
Protestants 
le ;  but  the 
lo  practised 
!S,  and  who 
ngerous  for 

.  of  Boston 

d  the  value 

nd  knew  no 

of  national 

spelling  the 
ed  bv  fana- 
resignation 


THE  IRISH  SOLDIER  IN  THE  HOSPITAL. 


487 


of  the  Irish  Cathohc  soldier,  of  whatever  rank,  as  he  lay 
wounded  or  dying  in  the  hospital.  In  the  devotedness  of 
the  Sister  and  the  Priest  there  was  a  beautiful  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  spirit  of  Christian  Charity  ;  in  the  unmur- 
muring resignation  of  the  Catholic  Soldier  there  was  the 
irresistible  evidence  of  Christian  Faith.  Many  a  proud 
scoffer,  to  whom  the  very  name  of  Catholic  had  been 
odious,  received  his  first  impression  of  the  truth  from  the 
edifying  demeanour  of  some  Irish  soldier  who  lay  in 
anguish  by  his  side,  and  who,  before  he  rushed  into  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  had  not  been  ashamed  to  crave  the 
blessing  of  his  priest.  It  was  the  same  in  the  hospitals  of 
the  States  as  in  tJ>p  hospitals  of  the  Crimea. 


488 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMKUICA. 


CHArTER  XXVII. 


Ciitholic  Education -Tho  Ciitlwolic  Church  in  Advance  of  the 
Age— Catholic    Tcacliiiig    favoiir;il)l«  (o    Parenlal  AuUiorily— 

riotostiint  coiilldence  in  truo  CuthoiicH The  Lihcrul  Amciican 

Trotestant --Catholie  SchooIs-^-Tlie  Sister  in  the  Scliool  and  the 
Asylum  -  ProteHtant  Conlidence  in  (^>i)v.'iit  Scliools  The  Cliris- 
tian  Hrolliers— Other  Teaching  Orders  Fioin  tlie  Camp  to  tlio 
School. 


FROM  the  earliest  moment  that  a  Catholic  commuiuty 
was  gathered  tooether  in  the  United  States,  it  songlit 
to  train  its  youth  in  the  principles  of  religion.     The  history 
of  Catholic  education  in  America  would  form  a  story  of  tlio 
deepest  interest  to  tliose  wlio  reverence  steadfastness  and 
courage.     It  w<juld  record  privations  clieerfully  endured, 
poverty  and  want  heroically  disregarded.     But  the  grand 
object — the    moral    training    of    the    young — successfully 
advanced.       Tho   efforts   of    the   clergy   to   promote    this 
essential  object  have  been  almost  marvellous,  considering 
the  difficulties  of  their  position  and  the  smallness  of  their 
means,  as  well  as  the  influences  which  opposed  them ;  but 
the  result  would  have  been  scanty  and  partial,  were  there 
not   the   devotedness  and  self-sacrifice  of  holy  women  to 
appeal  to.     The   same   spirit  that  inipelled  the  Sister  to 
brave  the  perils  of  the  fever  shed  and  cholera  ward  gave 
her  fortitude  to  endure  the  drudgery  of  teaching  in  tho 
crowded  school ;    and,  thanks  alike  to  the  energy  of  the 
religious  communities  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
the  respect  in  which  they  and  their  work  are  held,  femalQ 
education  for  Catholic  youth  is  now  provided  for  to  a  very 
large  extent.     There  is  much  more  to  be  done,  but  vast 
things  have  been  ali'eady  accomplished. 


CATHOLIC  EDUCATION. 


489 


ice  of  the 
iithorily — 
AiiiciiiNin 
)1  and  Did 
riic  Clii-isi- 
n\p  to  flio 


conniiuiuty 

S,  it    ROll^llt 

The  history 
story  of  t]iG 
istness  and 
ly  endured, 

the  grand 
successfully 
3mote  this 
considering 
ess  of  their 
them ;  but 
were  there 

women  to 
e  Sister  to 
ward  gave 
ling  in  the 
rgy  of  the 
States,  and 
leld,  femalQ 
)r  to  a  very 
Q,  but  vast 


The  Catholic  Church  holds  that  religious  education  is 
necessary  for  the  children  of  its  (iomnuiuion.  ()tli(u-s  may 
hold  diilV'rent  notions  ;  but  this  is  its  (IxcmT  and  unalterable 
belief.  N<n'  is  it  singular  in  this  n^siieet.  If  it  be  a  grave 
error  to  consider  that  it  is  well  to  form  and  mould  the 
moral  nature  of  youth,  while  you  develop  and  strengtlKUi 
its  intellectual  fa(rulti(3S,  that  error  is  shared  in  common 
with  the  most  advanced  nations  of  Europe, — Protestant 
Prussia  ami  Protestant  England — Catholic  Austria  and 
Catholic  France.     Fortunately  for  the  future  of  the  Irish 

*  AcconUnR  to  tlio  Prussian  Oonatitiition,  aloptoil  tlio  Hist  of  Januiiry,  lHr)i), 
it  is  pi'uvlilod  that  'in  tlio  iuaii;i;,'(!ini;iit  of  tiio  I'ublic  Sdiool.s  tlio  amfrssioiKtl 
relations  muHt  bo  kept  lu  view  im  mucli  as  poHHiblo.'  IJy 'conf'tiHHioiial  nlatioim' 
ore  incaiit  rdinioiiH  tlciiomiiiiitionH.  'J'lin'o  (-laHscs  of  schools  aro  Htriftly  do- 
uomiiiational,— KUsmcutiiry  Schooln,  Normal  ScIiooIh,  and  {jryiunaHiiims. 

ELEMKNTAttX  SCHOOLS.  'IlitTo  irt  iio  niixeil  school,  HaVn  only  in  a  locality 
In  which,  from  tiio  nniullni'sH  of  the  poimlatioii,  two  schools  cainiot  bo  niain- 
taiiuHl  ;  and  in  such  case  the  faith  of  ttie  children  is  rif^idly  i)r(>teetud.  Each 
Elementary  School  has  a  Local  Inspector  and  a  School  Committee.  The  Local 
Inspector  of  the  Catholii!  school  is  invariably  the  I'ai'i.sh  I'riest.  Tho  Head 
Inspector  is  tho  Caiholic  Dean,  tho  district  being  cotermiuous  with  the  ecclc- 
Biastical  division. 

NoBMAL  Schools.  These  schools  aro  for  tlio  teaching  and  trainin;^  of 
Teachers.  There  are,  in  Protestant  Prussia,  as  in  Protestant  England,  Catholic 
Normal  Schools  for  Catholics,  as  well  as  Protestant  Normal  Schouls  for  Protes- 
tants.  Ill  tho  Catholic  School  tho  President  is  a  priest,  and  all  tho  toachera 
aro  Catholics.  The  President  is  appointed  by  tho  King ;  but,  before  recora- 
mending  h'.i  appoiniinent,  the  Minister  is  bound  to  consult  the  Catholic  liiahop  of 
the  dio'"'''  and  to  recommend  a  person fiiUy  appioved  by  him. 

Tb'  '>ooks    in    tho    Catholic    Normal    School  aro    prescribed    by   th* 

Bishop  ;  class   boo'-s   in  which  matter    dangerous   to   faith   or    morals 

may  pcssi"*  ••    are    submitted    to    the    Bishop,   who  has  a  veto    on    their 

S'lectiou. 

Tho  pupil  of  uiO  Catholic  Xormal  School,  though  successful  in  examination, 
cannot  receive  his  or  her  '  patent,'  or  diploma,  without  the  concnrrent  approbation 
cf  tho  Government  Commissioner  and  Ih't  Bishop. 

Tho  Gymnasiums  aro  as  strictly  denominational  as  tho  Elementary  and  Normal 
Schools. 

Catholics  are  represented  on  tlio  Education  Board  by  a  special  member  of  tho 
Privy  Council  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  who  is  the  oflicial  organ  of 
tho  Catliolics.  The  Collegiate  system  is,  as  yet,  only  approximating  to  tho 
same  principle  of  strict  and  rigitl  impartiality  ;  but  it  is  to  bo  hoped  tho  higher 
chicational  institutions  will,  ere  long,  assimilate  to  those  of  the  primary  and 
secondary  classes. 

So  much  for  Protestant  Prussia,  whose  National  Education  in  its  main 
features,  is  very  similaj   to  that  of   Protestanf  England.     We  may   nfw  see  in 


490 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


^ 


iii  America,  tliis  is  the  l)elief  of  tbo  best  find  pfreatest 
poitioii  of  tlic  Catholic  population  tlirouyhout  tlio  United 
8tatc8.  To  obtain  the  advanta^jos  of  strictly  rciligiou.s 
traininjLj  for  their  children,  Catholics  musit  of  necessity 
make  lar<^c  sacriiices.  They  have  no  option  but  to  pay 
the  tax  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Public  Schools,  to 
which  all  cla!-;::^s  have  free  access,  and  in  which  all  receive 
a  gratuitous  and  liberal  education  ;  but  while  Catholics 
pay  their  quota  of  the  public  rate,  they  assess  themselves 
voluntarily  for  the  support  of  the  schools  of  which  their 
Church  approves.  There  have  been  unavoidable  defects 
in  the  Catholic  schools  in  some  districts,  and  under  certain 
circumstances  ;  it  being  difficult  for  a  poor  congregation, 
that  has  everything  to  provide,  everything  to  accompHsh, 
to  vie  with  the  State  in  the  character  and  material  of  its 

^hat  manner   a   Catholic   nation   respects   the   conscientious   convictions   of  the 
tuinoriiy  of  its  poptilation. 

Of  Catholic  Austria,  Mr.  Kay,  a  recognised  authority  on  matters  of  education, 
ftnd  a  Protestant,  thus  writes  :— 

'The  most  interesting  and  satisfactory  feature  of  the  Austrian  system  is  the 
great  libiralitij  with  wliicli  the  Government,  although  so  stauncli  an  adherent 
and  supporter  of  the  llomanist  priesthood,  has  treated  the  religious  parties  who 
differ  from  themselves  in  their  re-ligious  dogmas.  It  has  been  entirely  owing  to 
this  lilieraliij/,  that  neithcsr  tlie  great  number  of  the  sects  in  Austria,  uor  the  great 
difler.ni'es  of  their  religious  tc^nets,  have  hindered  the  work  of  the  education  of  the 
poor  throughout  the  empire.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  has  been  demonstrated  tliat 
such  ilifficuliivs  may  be  eadly  overcome,  when  a  Government  understands  bow  to 
raise  a  nation  in  civilisation,  and  wishes  earnestly  to  do  so. 

'Intliose  parislies  of  the  Austrian  empire  where  there  are  any  dissenters  from 
the  llomanist  Church,  the  education  of  their  children  is  not  directed  l)y  the 
priests,  bu'  is  commuted  to  the  care  of  th-.  dissenlin^  miniscrs.  Those  latter  are 
empowered  and  i-i-quind  by  Government  to  provide  for,  to  watch  over,-  and  to 
promote  the  education  of  the  children  if  their  oum.  sects,  In  the  same  manner  as  the 
priests  are  required  to  do  for  the  education  of  their  children.' 

Tlie  same  writer  thus  disposes  of  the  alleged  ditHculty  —  some  will  say  im- 
possll)ilitv— of  dealing  with  this  great  question  on  principles  of  strict  and  im- 
partial justice  to  all.     It  is  of  Catholic  J^tates  he  now  writes  :— 

'.And  yet  in  these  countries— .\ustria,  Bavaria,  and  the  Rhino  Provinces,  and 
the  Catholic  Swiss  Can'ous  — the  difficulties  arising  from  religious  diiTcnnieiis 
hare  be^n  overrmne,  and  nil  ti.eir  children  have  b'cn  brought  under  the  inflneua;  of 
religious  education  withoi.i  any  religious  iwty  having  been  offended.'— Kay,  vol.  ii., 
page  3. 

May  not  Young  America  learn  a  lesson,  in  this  respect,  from  tJie  modcru 
talixhtcunaeut  of  venerable  but  progrorisive  Europe  7 


.11(1  f^rentest 
tlio  United 
\y  religious 
)f  iiGccHsity 
but  to  i)!iy 
Schools,  LO 
li  all  roceivo 
0  CutliolicH 
tboiiiHclvcs 
which  their 
ible  defects 
ider  certain 
►ngregation, 
accomi)lish, 
-terial  of  its 

victione   of  the 

rs  of  I'diication, 

.  system  Is  the 
ch  an  adherent 
oua  parties  wlio 
•nlirely  owing  to 
a,  uor  the  great 
iducation  of  the 
monstratod  tliat 
rstaudu  how  to 

dissenters  from 
lirccted  by  the 
hoso  latter  are 
kh  over,-  and  to 
manner  as  tho 

le  -will  say  im- 
strict  and  im- 

Provinces,  and 
ons  diffcnuuMis 
llu!  wfineno'.  of 
'—Kay,  vol.  ii., 

n   the   modcru 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  ADVANCR  OP  TUE  AGE.     191 

schools.  Defects  there  have  boon,  and  thoro  must  bo  for 
a  time  ;  but  these  have  been  wisely  borne  with,  so  long  as 
they  were  unavoidable  ;  for  whatever  inferiority  there  may 
have  been,  or  may  still  bo,  in  one  respect,  it  has  been 
more  than  comp'msated  by  immeasurably  greater  ad- 
vantages. But  these  defects  belong  rather  to  the  past, 
and  to  parishes  still  in  their  first  difhc;ulties  of  church 
building  and  other  costly  undertakings  of  a  hiiidrcd 
nature — not  to  parishes  in  which  tho  main  wants  have 
been  provided  for,  or  where  the  schools  have  been  any 
time  estaf)lislied.  On  tho  >H>»ntravy,  there  are  numerous 
instances  in  which  the  Catholic  school  is  greatly  su^xirior 
to  the  Public  School,  and  where  the  Catholic  college  puts 
to  shame  the  most  advanced  of  thfe,  educational  institutions 
of  the  State.  Notwithstanding  tho  stupid  assertions  of  tho 
bigoted  oiN^p  ignorant,  tho  Church  never  did  lag  behind  in 
the  march  oiitutellect ;  it  has  ever  put  itself  in  the  van  of 
the  intellectual  movement  in  every  country.*  It  thoroughly 
comprehends  its  position,  its  responsibility,  and  its  duty ; 
and  while  it  is  solicitous  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  its 
flock,  it  never  disdains  tho  task  of  fitting  youth  f(3r  tho 
practical  business  of  daily  life,  and  the  varied  pursuits  and 
duties  of  citizenshij). 

*  Mr.  Kay,  whose  anti-Catholic  prejudieo  breathes  in  every  page  of  his  work, 
thus  refutes  the  old  calumny  against  tlio  Church: — 

'  In  Catholic  Germany,  in  Krance,  and  even  in  Italy,  tho  education  of  the 
coTnraon  people  in  reading,  '  riting,  arithmetic,  music,  manners,  and  morals,  is 
at  least  as  generally  dilVuseci  .md  as  faiilifiilly  promoted  by  tho  clerical  body  as 
in  S(;citland.  /;  is  bn  ilvir  own  wlvanci;  and  not  bij  hepiiig  liafk  the  advance  of  the 
]>i'ni-lc,  that  the  l'o]ii!th  iiric^lhood  of  the  jiresenl  day  frcks  tn  ki'i-p  ahnid  of  the  in- 
ti'lle/iital  proircsn  of  the.  communily  in  Calh'dic  lawls ;  and  they  miglit  perliaps 
retort  on  our  Prcsbyt(!rian  clergy,  and  ask  if  (hnj  too  are,  in  their  countries,  at 
tho  head  of  the  intellectual  movement  of  the  age?  Edura'ion  is  in  reality  not 
only  vol  suppressed,  tiid  is  eneoii  aged,  by  the  I'opish  Chwch,  and  is  a  mighty 
instrument  in  its  hands,  and  ably  used.  In  every  street  of  Home,  for  instance, 
there  are,  at  short  distances,  public  piiniiiry  schools  for  the  education  of  the 
children  of  the  lower  and  middle  classes  in  the  neighbourhood  Home,  with  a 
p()l)ulation  (if  158,000  souls,  has  372  put/lie  prin  n-y  schools,  with  48'2  ^■  t'/ier-, 
jinil  14,000  childrm  attending  them.  Has  Edinburgh  so  manv  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  these  classes?  I  doubt  it.  IJerlin,  with  a  population  alunit 
double  that  of  Homo,  has  only  2(i4  schools.  Rome  lias  also  her  I  niversity,  with 
an  average  atteiidince  of  (500  studems  ;  and  the  Papal  States,  witli  a  population 
of  2,r)00,000,  contains  7  uuiv(;rsities.  Prussia,  with  a  population  of  14,000,000,  has 
but  7  • 

This  was  written  beforw  the  dismemberment  of  the  Papal  States  by  the  Pope'.< 
ally,  the  King  of  t^ardinia 


492 


THE  iniSII  IN  AMEIIICA. 


ill?"  M 

:  -I 


« 

■m 


itiM 


How  ominoiiUy  i)rrictu*iil  is  tho  truiiiin^-  ^i\cn  iu  Amoricfi 
under  tlio  uuHpiocs  of  (he  Catliolic  Clmicli,  iniiy  bo  uiulor- 
Rtood  fi'uiu  the  folio wiii;L4-  doHcriptioii  of  tlio  HyHteiu  luloptod 
in  tlio  schools  of  tlio  Sisters  of  Mort'y.  The  siuno  system, 
I  niiiy  romiirk,  is  common  to  the  rolij^ious  communities  of 
the  United  Stiit(!s.  The  writer  is  a  Sister  of  the  Order  of 
Mercy,  who  thus  writes  to  a  friend,  from  a  convent  in 
Missouri.     The  letter  is  dated  the  iid  of  June  1807  : — 

'Two  pointH   of  (lilli'i-cMico    butwecn    our    hcIiooIh    and    tlio   riiblio 
'SchoolH  I  will  noto :  with  m,  children  of  every  class  Isam  to  work, 
•devoting  nearly  two  hours  a  day  to  it;    drawing    is  als/b   taught  in 
'coniu'ction  with  fancy    work.      We  believo  it  of  the  greatest  import 
'anco  to  bring  up  our  childniu  to  industrious  iiablts.  especially   in  a 

*  country  like  this,  where  reverses  arc  ho  common,  and  where  people 
•ttre  often  so  Hu<ld(;nly  thrown  upon  their  own  resources.  The  public 
'common  schools  never  teach  manual  work  of  any  kind— hence  their 
'rapilsgrow  up  with  a  sort  of  contempt  for  it.  and,  in  case  of  family 
'reverses,  find  it  dillicult  to  hit  upon  any  honest  way  of  earning  a  live- 
'lihood.     They   are   willing  to   take  professions,   but   dislike   much   to 

•  apply  to  trades.  Many  i'rotestants  of  the  more  sensible  classes  een<l 
'their  children  to  us  on  this  account.  In  some  places  the  school 
'authorities  huve  given  several  public  schools  to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
'who  now  teach  them  iu  theso '— the  places  mentioned— '  and  other 
'places.' 

The  writer  explains  the  other  feature  of  interest,  which 
is  of  scarcely  less  importance  : — 

'Wo  develop  in  our  pupils  a  taste  for  useful  and  elegant  reading, 
'not  always  or  necessarily  ndigious,  but  in  all  cases  perfectly  unex- 
'ceptionable.  By  thus  cultivating  their  tastes,  we  hope  to  give  them 
'rational  occupation  for  their  leisure,  and  to  hinder  them  from  con- 
'tracting  a  liking  for  foolish  or  pernicious  reading.  I  need  not  tell 
'you  thut  the  other  schools  do  not  take  this  precaution,  and  the 
'  consequence  may  be  seen  in  the  immense  circulation  of  works  of  a 
'deleterious  character,  which  are  eagerly  read,  even  by  children,  and 
'  to  which  much  of  the  crime  so  prevalent  may  be  traced.  Circulating 
'  libraries  are  established  in  common  with  our  schools,  sodalities,  &c.' 

*  It  is  hard  to  bring  up  youth,  especially  boys,  iu  thi .; 
country,'  has  been  the  grave  complaint  of  Irish  fathers  to 
whom  I  spoke  on  tins  Buliiecl',   or  who  themselves  mado 


FAVOURABLE  TO  I'AUKNTAL  AUTIIOUITV. 


•103 


I  ill  Amoricft 
y  l)o  uudor- 
,em  adopted 
luno  Hy.stoin, 
imuuiticH  of 
10  Order  of 
conveiit  in 
()7  :— 

(1  the  Piiblio 
Isarn  to  work, 
),\ifb  tauj^ht  in 
■L'iitcst  i  111  port 
specially  in  a 
whero  pcoplo 
^.  Tilt'  public 
i — liL'iice  thoir 
caso  of  liimily 
eaniinif  a  livo- 
lilvo  much  to 
I  clasac'H  send 
L'S  tlie  Hchool 
;t'rs  ol"  Jforcy, 
I — *  and   otliei' 

)rest,  which 


jfiint  reading, 
.'rlbctly  unex- 
to  give  tliera 
era  from  con- 
need  not  tell 
tion,  and  the 
)f  works  of  a 
children,  and 
.  Clrciilatiug 
lities,  &c.' 

yys,  in  thi ; 
L  fathers  to 
o1vp«   inn  do 


it  ono  of  aiixiotiH  roinark.       TliiH  is  felt  moro  kcciilv  by 
parentH  who  liavo  reared  eliildren  in  tho  old  country  an 
well  as  in  America.      In  Ireland  tho  family  ties  aro  wtrouj,' 
and  enduring',  while  respect  for  parents  and  defereiu^e  to 
parental    authority   is    tho    characteristic   of    tho   country 
—of  all   but   tho  vicious   and   tho  worthless.      Tho   mind 
of    Ireland  tends   to   moral    conservatism,— it  reverences 
authority,    eminently   that   of    the    parent   or  tho   pastor. 
It  is  otherwiso   in   America,   whose   institutions,   no   less 
than  tho  circumstances  of  a  country  yet  in  its  early  youth, 
aro  favourable  to  tho  most  complete  personal  independence. 
When  guided  by  reason,  and  controlled  by  the  reli<,nous 
princiiile,   nobility   of   cluiracter    and    dignity   of    bearing 
aro  tho  natural  result  of  this  consciousness  of  personal  as 
well  as  public  freedom;  but  without  such  controlling  in- 
fluences, this  inde]K)nd(mco    too   often  degenerates  into  a 
manner  jind  tone  of  thought  which  is  neither  admirable  nor 
attractive.      Tho  youth  of  the  country  rapidly  catch  the 
prevailing  spirit,  and  thus   become  impatient  of  restraint 
at  a  period  of  life  when  restraint  is  indispensable  to  their 
future  well-being.      This   is   peculiarly   observiiblo   in  tho 
youth  who  are  educated  in  the  Public  Schools.     Tho  boy 
who  is  trained  in  these  institutions  is  too  apt  to  disregard, 
if  not  altogether  despise,  that  authority  which  is  held  so 
sacred  in  Ireland  ;  and  once  this  first  and  holiest  of  all 
influences  is  lost,  on  goes  the  headlong  youth,  recldess  of 
consequences,  and  the  slave  of  every   impnlse.     There  is 
nothing  more   graceful   than   modesty  in  youth,  and  that 
proper  respect  which  it  manifests  towards  ago  and  worth. 
Self-esteem,  not  reverence,  is  the  bump  which  the  Pubhc 
School    system   of    America — a    system    purely   secular — 
develops  ;  and  of  all  the  pupils  gathered  within  the  walls 
of  these  schools,  none  arc  so  quick  to   catch  and  reflect 
the  prevailing  influence  as  the  children  of  tho  Irish.     The 
young  urchin  of  eight  or  ten  is  not  a  littlo  proud  of  the 
distinction  of  beinf*"  a  free  and  indenondent  citizen  of  tho 


494 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■11 

■'■m 

n 

3 


Great  Reimblic  ;  and  it  may  bo  doubtod  if  tho  pity  wliich 
ho  occa.sioiiiiUy  feols  for  his  liomcly  and  nuaffoctc'd  Irisli 
fatlior  i.s  not  nncorsoioiiHly  tiiictiUHHl  with  Native  Aniericiiii 
contt'ni])t  for  tho  'foreigner,'  and  tho  'Pat.' 

Tho  Catliohc  Schools,  on  tlio  (contrary,  inculcate  obedi- 
ence to  parental  authority— respect  for  the  head  of  tlu^ 
family— r(>verencc  for  holy  ihinos,— for  Avhat  is  great  and 
good  and  noble  ;  Avhile  at  the  same  time  they  carefully 
l)repare  their  pupils  for  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  hfe,  and 
fit  them  to  make  their  way  in  tho  world,  by  honesty, 
industry,  and  intelligence.  They  send  the  youth  better 
armed  into  the  world  to  fight  his  way  against  difficulty 
and  temptation,  and  they  give  him  a  resource  on  which  he 
may  fall  back  at  every  jicriod  of  his  future  career.  A 
sound  Catholic  education  affords  the  best  protection  against 
the  blight  of  indifferentism,  which  is  a  dangerous  evil  to 
tho  Irish  in  America — to  that  portion  of  tho  population 
whose  conduct  is  most  severely  scrutinised,  or  who  are 
regarded,  at  least  by  some,  and  those  not  a  few,  with  sus- 
picion or  dislike. 

This  system  of  education  extends,  while  it  secures,  the 
legitimate  influence  of  the  Church  ;  and  that  influence  is 
beneficial  in  a  worldly  and  temporal  point  of  view,  as  well 
as  in  the  inner  life  of  the  Catholic.  Whatever  the  preju- 
dice of  a  class  of  Americans,  they  are,  on  the  whole,  a 
just  and  generous  people,  thoroughly  alive  to  real  merit, 
and  ready  to  appreciate  and  confide  in  it.  They  may  not 
admire  the  Cathohc  religion  in  the  abstract ;  they  may 
object  to  its  tenets,  or  they  may  attribute  to  tho  Church 
principles  and  a  poHcy  which  have  been,  times  without 
number,  repudiated  and  disproved ;  but  they  instinctively 
admire  and  respect  a  Cathohc  who  is  not  ashamed  to  admit 
his  loyalty  to  his  creed,  and  who  exhibits  in  his  life  and 
conduct  the  influence  of  its  teaching.  There  are  in  New 
York,  as  in  the  other  cities  of  America,  merchants  and 
bankers  and  men  of  business  who  listen  with  grave  atten- 


PROTESTANT  CONFIDENCE  IN  TRUE  CATHOLICS.       495 


pity  which 
Lictcd  Irish 
3  Amcric'iii 

3atG  obt'di- 
JtuI  of  tho 
groiit  jiiid 
y  carefully 
)f  life,  and 
Y  honesty, 
nth  better 
t  difficulty 
n  which  he 
career.  A 
^on  against 
•us  evil  to 
population 
r  who  are 
,  with  sus- 

Dcures,  the 
ifluence  is 
;w,  as  well 
the  preju- 
i  whole,  a 
real  merit, 
iy  may  not 
they  may 
ho  Churcli 
;s  without 
stinctively 
d  to  admit 
is  life  and 
re  in  New 
iianta  and 
ave  atten- 


tion, if  not  warm  approval,  to  inflammatory  harangues 

one  cannot  call  tliom  sermons,  for  a  sermon  suggests  tho 
idea   of    a  i-eligious    discourse — against    'Popery    and    its 
abominations  ; '    who   will  even   join  in  a  crusade  against 
Catholic    fran(!hises    and     freedom— who    will    contribute 
largely,    and    even    munificently,    to   tho   funds    of    some 
aggressive    organisation   or  hostile    in8titution~wlio    will 
countenance  a  wrong  done,  if  not    to    parental   authority, 
at  least  to  religious  hberty  and   Christian  charity,  in  tho 
persons  of   miserable  children,  the  victims  of   poverty  or 
neglect ; — but  the  same  merchants,  l^ankers,  and   men  of 
business  will  pLu^e  implicit  confideiice  in  the  honesty  and 
fidelity  of  Catholics— Irish  Catholics  too— whom  they  know 
to  bo  devoted  to  their  Church,  and  constant  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  religious  duties.     Nay,  tho  very  men  who  do 
not  hesitate  to  indulge  in  the  common  cant  about  priests 
and  confession,  will  privately  enquire  whether  the  Catholic 
whom  they  employ  attends  his  churcli,  and  complies  with 
its  spiritual  obligations.     These  men  will  place  their  banks, 
their  warehouses,  their  offices,  their  concerns,  in  tho  cus- 
tody of  humble  Irishmen  of  the  class  who  consider  that 
true  fidelity  to  their  native  country  includes  unswerving 
devotion  to  its  ancient  faith.     In  New  York  there  are  few 
places  of  business  which  are  not  confided  to  the  vigilant 
custody  of  Irishmen  of  this  stamp  ;    and  rarely  has  this 
confidence  been  violated.     Money,  documents,  goods,  valu- 
able effects  of  all  kinds,  are  constiintly  under  their  hands, 
and  at  their  mercy  ;  but  no  doubt  arises  as  to  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  guardian  or  the  safety  of  the  i^roperty. 
Probably,  if   the  proprietor  learned  that  the  guardian  of 
his    property    had   ceased  to  be  a  practical   Cathcjlic,   his 
confidence  would  not  remain  long  unshaken  ;  and  thus  the 
same  man  of  experience  and  intellect  who  allowed  himself 
to  be  deluded   by  all   nnmner  of    anti-Catholic   nonsense, 
would  be  the  first  to  recognise,  in  his  own  interest,  how 
salutary  was  the  influence    of   the    Church   over  the  con- 


49G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


scionoos  of  tlioso  who  ^vcr(!  faitlil'ul  to  iIh  in-ccopts.  Aiul, 
in  their  qiiii^i,  liiuublo  unobtrusive  way,  tho  Irish  CuthoHcs 
who  hvo  in  uccordjinco  -svith  i\\o  toiirhin^-s  of  thoir  Church 
— who,  steady,  sober,  dih^oiit,  fiiitlifiil,  are  as  soh(utous  for 
tlu)  welfare  of  tlieir  eiuployerH  as  for  th(Mr  own  lulvance- 
nieut, — Irishmen  of  this  class  not  only  maintain  tho  lionour 
of  their  country  and  the  truth  of  thoir  relij^ioii,  but  do 
much  to  r(>move  prejudice,  and  brin^-  about  conversions. 

Tho  aamo  applies  to  Irish  Catholics  of  dilVerent  classes, 
and  to  women  as  well  as  men.  Even  bifjfoted  mistresses 
and  employers  will  pre; for  the  testimony  of  tho  Priest  or 
tho  Sister  to  all  other  testimonies  as  to  the  character  and 
conduct  of  a  Catholic  girl  or  woman,  and  will  al'tbrd  her 
faxulities  to  'go  to  her  duty ' — will  evcji  reproach  her  if 
she  appear  to  bo  lax  or  indillerent;  which,  however,  is  not 
connnon  with  Irish  Catholic  fcnuales,  Tlius,  in  a  nuu'o 
worldly  or  temporal  point  of  view,  practical  adh(!ren(!e  to 
their  Church  is  benelicial  to  Catholics  in  America  ;  and  to 
Catholic  teaching  alone  is  this  adherence-  this  noble  yet 
unobtrusive  loyalty — to  bo  looked  for  in  the  rising  gcaie- 
ration  of  that  race  whoso  fidelity  to  their  faith  has  been 
tested  by  centuries  of  persecution. 

To  provide  wlrnt  they  rightly  consider  to  bo  tho  best 
education  for  their  children,  Catholics  fr<!(!ly  tax  them- 
selves ;  but  among  the  generous  contributors  to  Catholic 
schools  are  American  Protestants,  who  desire  to  promote 
education  wherever  they  can,  and  who  recognise  in  Catho- 
lic teaching  a  benefit  to  the  connnunity  as  well  aa  to 
the  individual.  They  are  specially  pleased  to  witncs/j  tho 
attention  bestowed  by  the  clergy  on  the  schools  of  i'leir 
parish,  tho  pride  they  manifest  in  tlieir  improvement,  and 
tlie  cfibrts  they  make  to  induce  cleaidiness  of  ])ersou,  de- 
cency of  dress,  and  propriety  of  demeanour.  It  is  cu)3toni- 
ary  for  the  priest  to  refuse  admittance  to  the  child  unloj^^is  it 
is  clean  and  properly  clad,  the  priest  knowing  well  thai  L'lo 
vice,  not  the  poverty  of  the  i^arent,  is  the   cause  of  the 


'copis.  And, 
■isli  (lii( holies 
llKiir  Cluu-ch 
S()li(nl,()iis  for 
wn  :ulv;ui(H!- 
II  iho  honour 
^ioii,  but  do 
ivorwious. 
3rent  chisscs, 
d  mistresses 
lie  Pri(>st  or 
liiracter  and 
11  iil'tbrd  hov 
oach  her  if 
vover,  is  not 
in  ii  mere 
Ldh(!r(!n(!e  to 
I'iea  ;  and  to 
is  noble  yet 
rising  j^cuic- 
tli  has  beou 

be   the  best 
/■  tax   theni- 
to  Catholic 
to  promote 
Lse  in  Catho- 
well    aa  to 
witness  the 
)()ls  of  t'ieir 
vement,  and 
person,  de- 
ft is  cuotoni- 
lild  nnJobs  it 
ivell  thai  Jiio 
sauso  of  Iho 


Tin-:  LiinoiiAb  amkrican  i'uotkstant. 


497 


rondiiion  of  Ihe  child;  and  very  often  th(!  ])areiit  is  thus 
Bluuued  into  a  s(Mise  of  deecnuty  by  the  rcibuke  inii)lied  iu 
iliis  i-ei'iisal,  and  the  (^liild  is  soon  Jit  to  [>ass  niustcir,  juid 
to  be  received  among  the  othrr  childi-(!U  of  the  scliool. 
The  pri«!st  also  tries  to  reach  the  parents  tlirough  their 
c^hildren,  ami  fre(piently  with  signal  success;  the  growing 
iiitellig(Mice  and  modest  piety  of  the  tihild  acts  as  a  check 
on  the  folly  of  th(5  parciut,  aiul  brings  the  indiHerent  or 
tlie  obdurate  witliin  the  salutary  inlhu^nce  of  tlie  Church. 
"Wliat  most  impresses  the  liberal  Prot(!stant  in  his  ()l)ser- 
vati(m  of  Cathohc  schools  is  tlio  ])aternal  soli(Mtndft  of  tho 
pastor  for  the  welfare  of  his  young  Ilo(!k.  And  not  only 
will  a  really  enlightened  non-Catholic;  of  any  (hiiiominatiori 
rarely  refuse  an  ai)plication  for  assistance  towards  the  cx- 
hiusiou  of  Catholic  (uliication,  should  smih  be  made  to  him, 
but  most  fr(Mpi(!ntly  are  voluntary  od'erings — and  to  a  con- 
siderable amount — made  by  Protestants  who  ajjpreciate 
the  conscientious  opposition  of  the  Catholic;  chsrgy  to  any 
pystou  of  training  of  youth  which  is  not  based  upon 
religion,  and  who  witnciss  tho  strenuous  ell'orts  they  make 
to  raise  tho  standard  of  teaching  in  their  schools. 

.\n  unprejudic(id  observer — and  there  are  p(u-haps  more 
of  that  class  in  Anuu-ica  than  in  any  (;ountry  in  the  world — 
will  naturally  say:  'TJio  Catholic  Church  is  responsible 
'for  tho  conduct  and  charactcir  of  its  flock — rcjsponsiblo 
'  to  the  world,  as  well  as  to  Clod  ;  it  must  know  what 
'description  of  education  is  most  suited  to  its  youth — 
'which  system  will  make  them  better  Christians,  iKitter 
'  mon  and  women,  l)ctter  citizens.  It  is  the  old(;st  Church 
'in  the  world,  therefore  Lhe  ripest  in  the  wisdom  of  ex- 
'  perience  ;  and  that  experience  convinces  it  that  educa- 
'lion  based  on  religion — education  which  comprcshends  the 
'  :;piritual  and  moral  as  well  as  tho  inkillectual  nature  of 
'the  human  being — that  which  strengthens  and  purilic.'S 
'the  heart  and  moulds  tho  e /uscicnce,  while  it  develops 
'the  mind  and  stores  the  memory  of  tho  pupil — is  that 


1 


1 


498 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Svbich  iH  t,l)G  best  pi-eparation  for  the  battle  of  life.  If 
llu'ii,  tlic  Catholic  Cliurcli  is  held  re.sj)on.siblc — as  iin- 
'doiihtedly  ?7  is— for  the  character  and  conduct  of  those 
'  who  call  thonisolves  Catholics,  or  are  recoj^nised  as 
'Catholics,  why  should  it  not  adopt  and  insist  upon  hav- 
ing that  system  of  instruction  which  it  knows  to  be  most 
•  cojiducivc  to  the  useful  end  at  which  it  aims  ?  If  we  are 
•not  yet  wise  enough,  or  liberal  enough,  to  assist  them 
'through  the  State,  at  least  we  should  do  so  as  indi- 
'viduals.' 

The  educational  resources  of  the  Catholic  Church  of 
America— moaning  thereby  the  teachers,  the  buildings, 
and  the  pecuniary  means—are  not  as  yet  equal  to  the 
daily-increasing  requirements  of  the  country;  but  thoiigh 
they  do  not  and  cannot  keep  pace  with  the  demand  made 
upon  them,  they  are  being  steadily  and  even  wondrously 
developed.  The  teaching  staff  is  deficient  alone  in  num- 
bers ;  its  energy,  its  zeal,  and  its  efficiency  are  equal  to 
every  legitimate  effort.  What  can  be  done  under  the 
circumstances  is  done,  and  admirably  done  ;  but  more 
teachers  and  more  schools  and  larger  means  are  in  many, 
indeed  most  instances  indispensable.  For  female  schools, 
and  infant  schools  for  both  sexes,  tho  American  Church 
can  boast  of  a  noble  array  of  the  Eeligious  Orders,  who 
are  carrying  true  civilisation  into  every  quarter.  Even 
while  an  infant  city  is  struggling  into  existence,  beginning 
to  dot  itself  here  and  there  with  an  odd  building  in  red 
brick,  you  see  a  convent ;  and  in  the  school  attached  you 
hear  the  grateful  hum  of  youthful  voices.  The  religious 
communities  in  America  are  numerous,  but  all  are  devoted 
to  works  of  active,  practical  usefulness,  which  even  the  most 
sceptical  must  appreciate.  Among  this  glorious  army  of 
human  benefactors — the  most  successful  civihsers  whom 
tlie  world  knows- are  the  Orders  of  Charity  and  Mercy, 
of  Notre  Dnrno,  the  Saored  Hearty  tlie  Ursulinos,  the 
Presentation,   Benedictines,   Dominicans,   Franciscans,  the 


CATHOLIC    SCHOOLS. 


499 


3  of  life.  If 
Iblc — as  lin- 
net of  tlioso 
cofvniscd  as 
t  upon  liav- 
j  to  be  most 
?  If  we  are 
assist  them 
so   as  indi- 

Chiircli  of 
3  buildings, 
qual  to  the 
but  tlioiigli 
iinand  made 
wondrously 
)ne  in  num- 
re  equal  to 

under  the 
;  but  more 
re  in  many, 
lale  schools, 
can  Church 
Orders,  who 
rter.  Even 
3,  beginning 
:ling  in  red 
ttached  you 
he  religious 
are  devoted 
en  the  most 
us  army  of 
isers  whom 
and  Mercy, 
>iilinos,  the 
ciscans,  the 


Holy  Cross,  (  •*  St.  Joseph,  of  Providence,  of  the  Visitation, 
of   Nazareth,    of   Loretto,    of  the   PrcciouH   Blood,   of  the 
Holy  name  of  Jesus,  and  others  known  to  tin*  Catholics 
of  America.     For  male  schools,  of  every  class,  the  Chui-ch 
enjoys  the  invaluable  services  of  the  world-famous  Order 
of  Jesus,  whose  colleges,  academies  and  schools  cannot  bo 
excelled  by  any  educational  establishments  in  the  United 
States.     To  these  are  added  Sulpitians,  Franciscans,  Vin- 
centians,   lledemptorists,  the    Congregation  of    the   Holy 
Cross,  and  the  Brothers  of    the  Christian   Schools.     But 
these,  and  others  not  particularised,  though  numerous  and 
zealous  in  the  cause  of  Christian  education,  bear  still  but  a 
small  proportion  to  the  increasing  demand  for  their  teaching. 
It  is   not  necessary  to  give  a  detailed  account  oi  the 
progress  of  CathoHc  education  in  America.     Such  is  that 
progress,  that  the  description  of  to-day  would  not  sufHce 
for  to-morrow.     Thus  in  the  city  of  New  York  there  are 
now  about  30,000  children  receiving  education  in  Catholic 
schools ;    but  in   all  probabihty  40,000    would    not   fully 
represent  the  number  that  may  be  in   attendance  at  the 
close  of  18G8.     SomeA\  liere  about  1833,  a  single  priest  was 
'  attending  Brooldin,'  then  regarded  as  a  suburb  of  New 
York ;    now   there   are   not    fewer    than    12,000    Catholic 
children   in  Catholic   training  in   that  populous  city.     In 
places  which  have  grown  up  within  the  last  twenty  years, 
I  found  from   12,000  to   15,000   children    under    various 
Religous  Orders,  notwithstanding  that  the  Public  Schools 
were  likewise  in  full  and  successful  activity.     And  even  in 
small  cities  there  were  such  numbers  as  4,000  and   5,000 
and  6,000,  while  the  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  by 
bishops  and  priests  to  extend  their  school  accommodation 
and  increase  the  number  of  their  pupils  ;  and  in  all  cases 
the  majority  of  the  children  were  Irish — either  Irish  born 
or  the  offspring  of  Irish  j)arents.     The  school  that  com- 
mences with   300   soon  expands    into   500,   and    the   500 
rapidly  grow  into  1,000 — and  so  on.     In  New  York  thera 


500 


TniO  IlJIsri  IN  AMKIUCA. 


aro  parislios  in  wliich  iho  iiittMidiinco  in  tliclv  Oalliolic 
rcIiooIh  is  l)(>hv('(Mi  2,()()()  mid  .'{,()0();  juul  in  tlit'sc  pjiriHlicH 
elloi-ts  '.u-o  .slill  iM!i(l(«  lo  oxliMid  ilio  l)l<'s.sin«,'H  of  ilu*  hont 
system  of  ('(liicjilion  io  lliosc*  avIio,  ix'rliaps  of  nil  oilier 
cliildroii  in  iho  Morld,  aro  dc'slincd  to  bo  iri(!d  by  ilio  most 
dan^-oroiis  t(>mplationH.  I  saw  ihroiio;]iout  i\w,  Hbitos  lar«^o 
and  spacious  schools  f^iowin^-  up  in  every  direction  undcsr 
the  auspices  of  the  Church;  and  T  .  ^  vemember  Ijow, 
wlieu   visiting-  a  Scmtheru    ciiy,    mIik  '        .*«   slowly   risin<>- 

111  '  •'  ^ 

above  the  aslu\s  of  its  desolation,  T  was  inqiressed  with  th(» 
zeal  of  the  Catholics — mostly  Irish — who  were  croctin«^^  a 
line  ftMnale  school  for  500  pupils,  which  was  to  bo  phic.ed 
under  tlu>  care  of  Sist(»ra. 

AVitluuita  conuuunity  of  Sisters,  uo  parish,  uo  Catholic 
connnunity    is    properly    provided   for;    with    Sisters   the 
work  of  rt'forniation  is  really  hc^nn.     Th(nns(4veH  examples 
of  overythiuo-  o-ood  and  holy,  o-onllo  and  relined,  tliey  soon 
exorcise  a   salutary  inlhuuice  over  adults  as  well  as  child- 
ren.    And  what  can  oipial   tlio    patience  of  the  Sist(!r  in 
the  daily  drud^-ery  of  the  crowded  school?     It  is  soiiKithin^' 
wonderful,  and  can  only  bo  accounted  for  by  the  lioht  in 
wliich  she  reo-ards  her  work— as  a  duty  acceptable  to  (rod. 
"Whatever  she  does,  her  heart  is  in  it ;   the  motive,  object, 
feehno-— all  exalt  and  render  it  sacred  in  her   eyes.     It  is 
the  consciousness  of  the  sacredncss  of  the     un's  vocation 
tliat  enables  her  to  go  through  her  laborious  duties  with 
such  unfailing  regularity  and  such  matchhiss  cheerfulness 
and  patience.     Entering  any  of  the  free  schools  of  America, 
one   may   see   young   Sisters,   with  the  bh)om   of  youth's 
freshness  on  their  cheek,  as  calm  and  unmoved  amidst  tho 
clatter  and  clamour  of  a  school  of  some  hundred  girls  or  httle 
Voys,  as  if  that  cheek  had  grown  pale  and  worn  with  ago. 
I  remember  coming  into  a  crowded  school  in  a  remote  and 
not  over  rich  district;    the  teaching  stafif  was   miserably 
small,  and  each  of  tho   two  Sisters   had    to   instruct  and 
manage  a  disproportionately  large  number  of  young  people. 


ir  Oiilliolic 
H(^  pjirislicH 
:)!'  ih(i  best 
r    all   nihvv 

>tiit(^H  liir;^() 
iioii  under 
inbcr  liow, 
wly  ri,siii<^ 
(1  with  tlu< 
ci'0(;tinfif  a 
bo  placed 

()  Catliolio 
>ister8   tlio 
3  examples 
they  KO»)u 
I  aw  cbild- 
I  Sist(!r  in 
soiiieihin^ 
10  li<^-lit  in 
Lo  to  God. 
vo,  object, 
yea.     It  iw 
8  vocation 
aties  with 
eerfulness 
:  America, 
)i  youth's 
,niidst  tlio 
via  or  little 
with  ago. 
5mote  and 
miserably 
truct  and 
ig  people. 


TlIK  SISTKU  IN  TlIK  SCHOOL  AND  THE  ASVbUM. 


no  I 


Ah  T  raised  the  latcli  of  tlio  door  of  tho  boys'  school  -  in 
which  lliere  nuist  have  been  seve!ity  or  eighty  hlth;  rejjown 
of  all  ages,  from  foui'  oi-  live  to  twelve — tluj  <-latler  was 
jirodigious.  But  as  tho  door  o])ened,  and  tho  stranger 
((Jitered.  tlm  spell  of  silonco — unwonlod  silence — fell  ui)on 
th(5  youthful  siud(;nts.  Tho  Sister  was  a  young  Irish- 
woman; and  notwithstanding  tho  calm  scironity  of  her 
countenance,  and  Iho  (rheei-fulness  of  lusr  manner,  tJKiro 
was  sonu'thing  of  vve-ariness  about  her  eyes  -  what  on<!  may 
occvisionally  remark  in  the  face  of  a  fond  mother  of  a 
family  on  whom  slui   doats,  Init  who  nra   i.ev(irtlieless  '  t<^() 

«■'  ' 

nuich  for  hvv.'  'I  am  afraid,  Sistm-,'  I  I'emai'ked,  'these 
young  genthiUH^n  are  a  little  diirKUilt  to  manage  at  timosV* 
'Well,  certainly,  tlmy  are  a  little  troublesonni — occrasion- 
ally,'  she  r(![)ru!d  ;  '  but,'  she  addcsd,  as  lu^r  ghmco  roamed 
round  the  school,  and  it  r(!sted  on  tlu;  familiar  features  of 
HO  many  h)V(;d  ones,  and  luir  voic(i  softciuod  into  tho 
sweetest  tcmes,  'i)oor  little  fellows,  they  are  very  good  on 
the  whole — inde(!d  very  good.'  I  did  not  remain  long; 
and  as  the  door  closed  after  me,  I  knew,  by  tin;  splendid 
clatter  which  was  almost  instantaneously  ren(!wed,  that 
the  trials  of  the  Sister  had  again  begun. 

If  the  patience  of  tho  Sister  in  the  scho(jl-room  is 
admirable,  what  can  be  said  of  her  devotion  to  the  orphan 
in  the  asylum?  It  is  the  compensation  which  religion 
malces  to  the  bereaved  one  for  the  loss  of  a  mother's  love. 
The  waifs  and  strays  of  society  are  cared  f(jr,  watched 
over  with  a  solicitude  which  the  natural  love  of  a  parent 
can  alone  excel,  I  have  seen  many  such  asylums  in 
America — in  tho  British  Provinces  as  in  the  States. 
Among  those  heli^less  little  Ijoings  there  is  always  one 
who  is  sure  to  be,  not  better  cared  for  or  more  beloved, 
but  the  '  pet ' — a  tiny  toddler,  who  will  cling  in  the  Sister's 
robe,  or  cry  itself  to  sleep  in  her  arms;  or  the  'prodigy' 
of  the  riper  age  of  three  or  four — a  young  gentleman  who, 
after  conquering  his  bashfulness,  will  dance  an  Irish  ]ig,  or 


=,*«*»*  * 


A02 


THE,  IllISlI  IN  AMEillCA. 


fi 


St*" 

■4 

:.  .ft* 


.if 

1 
3 


■■4 
< 


a  nef,'ro  brculvdcnvii,  or  recite  a  pretty  pioiiH  verso,  or  siiif,' 
Romothiiifj;'  comic  (niouj^li  to  set  all  the  (^liildreii  in  a  roar 
of  innocent  tleli«^lit,  in  vvhicli  the  Sister  is  sure  to  join.  In 
one  of  these  asylums  I  remember  to  have  seem,  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  apartment,  occupied  as  a  day  room  by 
the  youngest  children,  a  coiich,  on  which  lay  a  helpless 
and  hopeless  infant  cripple  ;  and  how  the  poor  little  thing, 
whose  feeble  tide  of  life  was  slowly  ebbing,  followed  with 
a  look  of  i)leasure  and  a  faint  sickly  smile,  the  performance 
of  the  infant  prodigy.  And  no  mother  could  have  spoken 
to  that  stri(;ken  child  with  a  gentler  voice,  or  watched  over 
it  with  a  fonder  solicitude,  than  the  Sister,  whom  the  in- 
spiration of  Faith  had  given  to  it  as  a  second  parent. 

While  passing  through  various  institutions  under  the 
management  of  religious  connuunitics,  the  thought  has 
often  struck  me — that  if  those  who  entertain  strange 
notions  as  to  the  real  character  of  these  communities,  had 
the  same  opportunities  as  I  have  had,  in  Europe  as  in 
America,  of  witnessing  the  daily  drudgery  of  the  Sisters 
engaged  in  the  laborious  and  wearisome  task  of  education 
— the  services  of  the  Sisters  in  tiie  orphan  asylum,  the 
prison,  the  penitentiary'  the  hospital — in  visiting  the  sick, 
protecting  the  unprotected  female,  teaching  habits  of  in- 
dustry and  neatness,  bringing  back  the  erring  and  the 
fallen  to  safety  and  penitence — in  their  daily  life,  in  which 
they  exemplify  the  beauty  and  holiness  of  their  mission — 
how  jjrejudice  would  vanish !  And  how  the  good  and  the 
enlightened  would  understand  that  if  society  loses  the 
advantage  of  the  presence  and  influence  of  these  holy 
women  in  the  ordinary  paths  of  life,  as  sisters,  wives,  and 
mothers,  it  is  compensated  a  thousandfold  by  their  services 
in  the  training  of  youth,  in  the  care  of  the  orphan,  in  the 
reclamation  of  the  sinner,  in  the  relief  of  the  suffering — 
nay,  in  the  formation  of  the  female  mind  on  the  solid 
basis  of  piety,  and  preparing  the  young  girl,  wli(ither  tho 
daughter  of  affluence   or  the  child  of  the  people,  for  thq 


PROTESTANT  CONFIDENCE  IN  CONVENT  SCHOOLS.     503 


\Gr.so,  or  sin;,' 
Iron  in  a  roar 
I'G  to  join.  In 
I   BC(ui,  in  tliu 

(lay  room  by 
lay  a  lielploris 
^r  little  thin;,^ 
folio  wod  wiMi 
5  perfornianco 
I  have  spoken 
watched  over 
wlioni  the  in- 

parent. 
as   under   the 

thought  has 
I'tain  strange 
imunities,  had 
Europe  as  in 
di  the  Sisters 
:  of  education 
L  asylum,  the 
ting  the  sick, 

habits  of  in- 
ring   and  the 

life,  in  which 
eir  mission — 
good  and  the 
ety  loses  the 
'f  these  holy 
rs,  wives,  and 
their  services 
•rplian,  in  the 
le  suffering — 
on  the  solid 
,  whether  the 
Gople,  for  thq 


fiilfihnent  of  her  ^ituro  diitioH,  as  wife  and  motlior,  as  com- 
panion or  as  guide.* 

Bat  whatever  the  prejiidicies  of  the  ignorant  or  tlio 
fanati(!al  may  be,  the  enh'ghtened  of  America  recognise 
the  value  of  the  training  which  young  girls  receive  in 
schools  conducted  by  members  of  religious  connnunities — 
by  women  who  are  accomplished,  gentle,  graceful,  and 
refined — who  combine  the  highest  intellectual  (uiltivation 
with  g(uuiiuo  goodness.  Protestants  of  all  denominations, 
and  of  strong  religious  convictions  too,  send  their  daugh- 
ters to  convent  schools ;  and,  strange  as  it  may  appear  to 
one  who  visits  America  for  the  first  time,  more,  than  half  of 
all  the  pupils  educated  in  such  institutions  are  the  children 
of  non-Catholics !  Parents  know  that  while  under  the  care 
of  th )  Sisters  their  children  are  not  exi)osed  to  risk  or 
danger — that  they  are  morally  safe ;  and  one  may  hear  it 
constantly  remarked  by  Protestants  that  there  is  an  inde- 
finable 'something'  in  the  manner  of  girls  trained  by 
nuns  which  is  immeasurably  superior  to  the  artificial  fin- 

*  As  au  illustration  of  the  great  work  done  for  society  by  the  l^oligioua 
Orders  in  America,  the  good  deeds  of  the  conununity  of  a  single  institution— 
that  of  the  SiHters  of  Mercy,  \ew  York,— may  be  referred  to.  They  visit  the 
sick  in  tlioir  homes  as  well  as  in  the  hospitals  ;  they  instruct  the  criminal  in  the 
prison,  and  prepare  the  condc^mnod  to  meet  their  fate  in  penitence  and  re- 
signation ;  they  minister  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor  and  the  destitute  ;  and, 
by  care  and  instruction,  they  protect  girls  of  good  character  from  the  dangers 
which,  in  largo  cities,  lie  in  the  path  of  youth  and  inexperienced.  They  provide 
servants  with  situations,  and  they  teach  the  young.  Though  but  eighteen 
years  in  existence  to  the  year  1864,  they,  up  to  that  date,  visited  and  relieved 
7,083  sick  poor,  and  paid  23,471  visits  to  the  sick  ;  they  visited  at  the  City 
Prison  and  Sing  Sing  19,500  prisoners,  and  prepared  22  for  the  scaffold— that  ia 
every  Catholic  who  suffered  the  penalty  of  death  during  twenty  years  ;  they 
relieved  92,120  cases  of  distress  ;  they  received  into  their  House  of  Protection 
9,504  young  girls  of  good  character,  and  they  provided  16,869  with  situations, 
including  those  sent  from  the  House  of  Protection  ;  they  prepared  38,024  for 
the  Sacraments  ;  and  they  did  a  number  of  other  good  works,  including  noble 
service  in  the  military  hospitals.  Is  not  this  a  splendid  record  of  work  done  for 
society?  And  is  it  possible  that  it  could  have  been  as  effectually  done  by  a 
hundred  times  the  numb-jr  of  ladies  having  domestic  engagements  and  worldly 
ties?  Then  it  is  well  f'>r  society  that  there  are  those  wlio  will  sacrifice  for  the 
public  good,  though  for  their  own  spiritual  advantage,  what  others  prize— in  a  word, 
that  there  are  '  Sisters '  of  various  orders  and  duuominatiuus. 


604 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ihIi  of  the  best  socular  acatlomy  or  collefjc.  If  tlio  ycurifr 
ProtoHtaiit  pupil  iiiiwilliiifjfly  ciitorH  tho  convent  scrhool, 
hIu)  leaves  it  reluctantly ;  and  the  inllucnco  of  the  ini))r(\s- 
sion  it  has  left  upon  her  mind  is  never  lo.st  in  after  life-- 
she  knows  how  false  are  the  accusations  made  af^ainst 
convents  and  Catholics,  and  when  others  are  prejudiced 
or  fanatical,  she  is  tolerant  and  liberal.  And  for  society 
at  larjj^e  this  conversion  to  common  sense  is  a  great  gain. 

Wliat  is  true  of  convent  schools,  is  equally  true  of 
stihools  and  colleges  under  the  care  of  the  great  educational 
Orders — Jesuits,  Sulpitians,  Vinccntians,  lledemptorists, 
Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Christian  Brothers,  Francis- 
cans, and  others.  Such  indeed  is  the  liberality  of  some 
parents,  that  they  formally  declare  their  willingness  to  have 
their  children  brought  up  in  the  Catholic  faith.  This  has 
more  generally  occurred  since  the  war,  which,  as  I  have 
already  shown,  triumphantly  tested  the  wisdom  of  tho 
Church,  as  well  as  the  nature  and  results  of  its  teaching. 

As  the  Brothers  of  tho  Christian  Schools  are  amongst 
the  most  successful  promoters  of  Catholic  education  in 
America,  something  may  be  said  as  to  their  progress. 
They  were  first  established  some  thirty  years  since  in 
Montreal,  to  which  city  they  were  invited  by  tho  Suli)i- 
tians  ;  and  last  year,  180(3,  they  had  in  Canada  10  houses, 
170  Brothers,  and  0,000  pupils.  The  first  establishment 
of  the  Order  in  the  United  States  was  in  1845,  the  next 
in  1848  ;  and  in  18GG  they  were  to  be  found  in  successful 
operation  in  the  chief  cities  of  the  Union — in  which  there 
were,  that  year,  35  houses,  370  Brothers,  and  more  than 
20,000  pupils.  This  year,  18G7,  there  is  a  considerable 
increase  of  houses,  brothers,  and  pupils.  The  Brothers 
now  exceed  400,  and  the  pupils  are  fast  rising  to  30,000. 

Besides  parochial  schools,  which  they  teach  with  signal 
success,  the  Brothers  conduct  several  colleges,  including 
that  at  Manhattan,  in  New  York  ;  St.  Louis,  Missouri ; 
Rock  Hill,  Maryland  ;  and  Bass,  Mississippi.     Of  the  370 


THE  CllUISTIAN  DUOTUliUS.. 


005 


'  the  ycunpr 
ont  school, 
tlu!  im])r('.s- 
.  after  hfe  — 
idc  iif^iiinst 
prejudiced 
for  Hoeiety 
:'eat  {^'ain. 
Uy  true  of 
educational 
lemptorists, 
rs,  FraiiciH- 
ity  of  some 
less  to  have 
L.  This  has 
,  as  I  have 
lorn  of  the 
teaching, 
re  amongst 
ilucation  in 
T  progress, 
rs  since  in 
the  Suli)i- 
10  houses, 
tablishment 
tS,  the  next 
1  successful 
which  there 
more  than 
jonsiderable 
le  Brothers 
)  30,000. 
with  signal 
3,  including 
:,  Missouri  ; 
Of  the  370 


Brothers  who  constitutod  in  18GfJ  the  stri-ngth  of  tlio 
Order  in  the  United  States,  300  were  eitlujr  Irish,  or  of 
Irish  parents.  And  of  the  English-Hpeaking  Brothers  in 
Canada,  the  great  majority  are  of  the  same  race.  Probably 
in  1808  the  niunber  of  Brothers  in  the  States  may  be  at 
least  500;  but  were  there  5,000,  that  nuni1)er  wnuld  not 
be  too  many  for  the  work  to  be  done.  There  is  in  America 
no  lack  of  api)reciation  of  the  educational  labours  of  the 
Ohristian  Brothers.  With  bish()i)s  and  clergy  the  cry  is, 
'Give  us  more  Brothers' — 'Oh,  if  we  had  more  brothers!' 
These  men  are  the  inheritcn-s  of  one  of  the  best  educational 
systems  in  the  world  ;  and  devoting  themselves  exclusively 
to  their  self-imposed  task,  their  success  is  necessarily  great. 
Their  parochial  schools  vie  Avitli  the  Public  Schools  m  the 
excellence  of  their  teaching — that  is,  in  mere  secular  know- 
ledge;  and  their  high  schools,  academies  and  colleges 
rival  any  corresponding  institutions  supported  hy  the  State. 
The  proficiency  of  their  pupils  in  the  highest  branches  of 
polite  learning  is  the  theme  of  admiration  in  journals  of 
the  most  marked  Protestant  character ;  and  enlightened 
Americans  of  various  denominations  admit  the  services 
which  these  men  render  to  society  through  the  influence 
of  their  teaching  on  the  rising  youth  of  the  country.  The 
Brothers  are  eminently  practical;  they  thoroughly  com- 
prehend the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  American  mind ;  and 
they  so  t(\ach  their  pupils,  of  whatever  class,  rich  or  poor, 
as  to  suit  them  to  the  position  they  are  to  occupy  in  life. 

Perhaps  the  truest  proof  of  the  religious  influence  wdiich 
they  exercise  over  their  pupils  is  this — that  wherever  they 
are  any  time  established  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  has  less 
difficulty  in  procuring  candidates  for  the  ministry.  They 
themselves  are  examples  of  self-denial  and  dcvotedness. 
All  men  of  intelligence,  many  full  of  energy  and  genius 
— all  capable  of  pushing  their  way  in  some  one  walk  of 
life  or  other — not  a  fcvf  certain  to  have  risen  to  eminence 

in  the  higher  departments,  had  they  dedicated  themselves 

22 


60(1 


TUK  llilSII  IN  AMHUICA. 


-.41 

) 


J 
•<« 


to  tbo  world  and  its  imrHiiitH ;  llviiif,'  a  lifr  ulnjoHt,  of 
privation,  ronivui,  with  llu,  l)ni-0Ht  luitanco— wluii  will,  in 
fact,  aOord  Ihcm  llu<  merest  nieaiiH  of  existon<;o--llie 
JJrolherH  labour  in  their  ^'loriouH  voeal ion  with  a  zeiil  and 
cntlniHiasni  whieh  reli^'ion  can  alono  inspire  or  alon«!  e.v- 
pliiin.  To  tho  mind  of  ^'«>ncrouH  youth  fln^  ambition  cf 
risiu},'  in  tho  world  is  natural  and  laudahh*,  and  in  a  new 
unci  vast  cinmtry  hko  AnuMica,  and  under  a  constitution 
which  throws  open  the  path  of  distinction  to  merit  or  to 
ooura^^e,  tho  world  oilers  too  many  tomptin-,'  attractions 
to  1)0  ri^sisted  by  tho  yonu}:;  and  tho  ardent.  Hence  thoro 
is  a  constant  comphiint  on  the  part  of  Bishops  of  tho  want 
of  'vocations'  for  tho  priesthood.  Indeed  tho  latest  nt- 
toraiico  on  this  subject,  at  once  tho  j;ravost  and  most 
authoritative,  proc(-eUs  from  tho  Second  lM(>nary  Council  of 
Baltimore.     Tho  Bishops  say  : — 

'Wo  coiitiiiuo  (()  Icfl  the  want  of  zeiiloiis  prii'sts,  in  Huniciciit 
uuiuIkt  (o  supply  tli('  (liiily  iiuMViisinjj;  neoossitles  of  onr  dioct'scs. 
Wliik>  wo  iiro  KiiUilio.l  to  know  that  in  somo  parts  of  our  conntry 
tiiu  nunibor  of  youths  who  olfoi-  thonisolvo.s  jbr  tiio  Ecclosiusticul 
s^tato  is  rapidly  ineroasiii};,  wo  aro  oblijrcd  to  roinarit  that  in  oiIut 
piu-ts,  nolwithstandiiij,'  all  tho  olforts  and  saoiillcos  which  havo  boon 
made  for  this  objoet.  and  tho  oxtraordihary  onoourasoinontH  whicli 
havo  boon  hold  out  lo  youthful  aspirants  to  tho  ministry  in  (.nr 
Proparatory  and  Thoolooical  Soniinarios,  tho  nnnibor  of  Huoh  as  liavo 
prosontod  thonisolvos  and  porsovorod  in  thoir  vocations  has  hitherto 
boon  laniontably  small.  AVhatovor  may  bo  tho  causo  of  this  uii- 
williuirnoss  to  oiitor  tho  saorod  ministry  on  tho  part  of  our  youlh,  il 
cannot  bo  attribulod  to  any  dolicioncy  of  ours  in  such  offorts  as  oir- 
cuinstancos  havo  onablod  us  to  mako.  Wo  fear  that  tho  fault  lios,  in 
great  part,  with  many  parents,  who,  instead  of  fostering  tho  dosiro. 
so  natural  to  the  youthful  heart,  of  dedicating  itself  to  the  service  ul' 
God's  sanctuary,  but  too  often  impart  to  thoir  children  their  own 
worldly-mindodnoss.  aiul  seek  to  influence  their  choice  of  a  state  of 
life  by  unduly  exaggerating  the  dinicultios  and  dangers  of  tho  priestly 
calling,  and  painting  in  too  glowing  colours  the  advantage  of  a  scculai 
life. 

The    '  some   parts '  referred  to  in  the  Pastoral  Letter, 
^nay  signify  those  pla-.-es  in  whicli  the  best  provision  has 


Iv  ulnioHt/  of 
Nvliiii  will,  ill 
xistoin!(! — illd 
h  a  zoiil  iiiid 
or  jildiuj  ex- 

iinibitioii  i.i 
lud  ill  H  now 

coiiHiitiitioii 
)  morit  or  U) 
^  iittractionH 

Hciico  tbtsro 

i  of    UlO  Willlt 

ho  latest  lit- 
st  and  most 
•y  Council  c^f 

1,  in  Hutticiciil 
our  dloccsi's. 
)i'  our  country 
I  EccU'siiiHticiil 
:  that  in  oihor 
lich    hivvo  bt't'ii 

gOIIUMltS    wliicli 

iiiiiistry   in   (nir 

f    such    ilH    IlilVl' 

ns  liiis  liitliiTlo 
iso  of  lliis  un- 
f  our  youlli,  it 
1  cirort.s  as  cir- 
lie  fault  lies,  in 
ing  the   desire, 

tlie  service  (rl' 
ren   tlieir   own 

of  a  state  of 
of  the  priestly 
?e  of  a  sccu'.ai 

oral  Lett<>.r, 
L'ovisioii  has 


OTHiCU  TRAOIFIN'ti  ORDKUH. 


&0i 


boon  mado  for  r<ili<^nouH  t<wu*]iin^%  iri('liidiii«,'  tlioHo  in  which 
the  Christian  Urothors  havo  cstahlishcjl  their  schools,  and 
havo  had  tinm  to  exorcise  tluiir  iiilliicnce  on  tln!  mind  and 
heart  of  youth.  It  has  Ikmmi  remarked  that  the  intliiencAj 
of  tJKur  teachin<jf  is  not  alono  manifesttul  in  their  own  im- 
iiicdiiile  pupils  ;  but  that  many  youn<jf  men  who  have  never 
lV(;<in(niteil  their  schools,  havo  felt  tUemstilves  im[)eUed  to 
a  icliHioiiH  life  by  the  example  of  a  fri(!nd  or  companion 
educated  by  the  Jiiotlusrs.  Mcjre  then  are  f^'rand  results  of 
tiio  siiccossful  labours  of  this  Order:  youth  littcd  to  mako 
its  w»v  ill  i\iQ  world,  and  fortified  by  the  b»!st  iiiduences, 
if  not  >vholly  to  resist,  at  hunt  not  to  bo  a  willing'  victim 
to  its  temptations  ;  and  youn<^  of  hi^dier  and  nobler  pur- 
pose induced  to  sacrilico  tho  ^ditterinj,'  attractions  (jf  the 
world,  for  tho  self-denying  and  laborious  life  of  tho  mis- 
sionary j)riest. 

Tho  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  is  rapidly  ^riovvin",'  in 
Ktrcngth  and  usofuluess  in  tho  United  Statcfs.  It  comprisea 
Priests,  Brotluu-s,  Sisters,  whose  ordinary  avocation  is  tliG 
training  of  youth  of  both  sexes,  and  ministering  to  the 
sick  and  poor  in  hospitals.  To  tho  Archdiocese  of  Tuam, 
Ireland,  tho  Catholic  ch.urch  of  America  is  inde-bted  for 
tho  Brothers  of  this  Ord(3r,  who  havo  esttiblished  several 
communities,  and  conduct  with  gl-oat  advantage  academies 
and  parochial  schools  in  various  dioceses.  In  1847,  Bishop 
O'Connor,  of  Pittsburg,*  obtained  six  brothers,  who  founded 
some  communities  of  tho  Order  in  his  diocese,  tho  principal 
of  which  is  Loretto,  containing  about  forty  l>rothers,  who 
conduct  an  exteusive  college  in  that  city.  This  was  the 
origin  of  this  Order  in  the  United  States.  In  1858,  Bishop 
Loughlin  of  Brooklyn  applied  to  tho  Archbishop  of  Tuam 
for  Brothers,  and  obtained  two  ;   and  in   the   diocese   of 

*  ('no  of  tho  most  accompliabed  aucl  zealous  of  tho  Catliolic  bishops  of 
..lUfiua.  who  did  great  things  for  tho  Church,  but  who-compellod  by  ill-hoalth 
t.)    Hu^i-ndfr    his   (  locesu   to  other  hand.s-is  now  a  simple   Jesuit.     I'lo  is  loved 

.or«  Hn„H^f.  ,"'""'«•''    "*    '^o**o    who    regard    this  good    man  with    sentiments    of 


508 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


mi 


Brooklyn  there  are  now  ohoni  thirty  of  the  brotherhood, 
conducting  academics  and  parochial  schools  which  are 
largely  attended.  They  have  opened  a  mission  in  Los 
Angelos,  California,  for  the  last  four  years;  they  have 
founded  another  in  Elizabeth  Port,  New  Jersey  ;  and  this 
year  they  have  established  a  branch  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 
Thus  has  the  good  seed  from  the  old  Catholic  country 
fructified  in  this  new  domain  of  the  Church. 

As  the  educational  necessities  of  Catholics  increase,  so  in 
the  same  or  a  greater  proportion  does  the  Church  display 
greater  zeal  and  greater  energy  to  supply  the  want.  New 
Orders  are  constantly  springing  up  for  new  fields  of  spii'it- 
ual  and  intellectual  labour.  Thus  the  Congregation  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  founded  in  France  in  185G,  and  approved  by 
the  Holy  See  in  1857,  has  established  several  flourishing 
oducationiil  institutions  in  the  United  States ;  its  teaching 
ranging  from  the  simplest  elementary  histruction,  up  to 
the  very  highest  standard  of  collegiate  requirements.  The 
Priestsi^  who  are  called  Salvatorists,  from  being  specially 
consecrated  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  devote  themselves 
exclusively  to  missions  and  the  education  of  youth.  The 
Brothers  are  devoted  to  the  great  work  of  religious  in- 
struction, with  which,  according  to  the  circumstances  and 
the  necessities  of  their  pufiils,  is  combined  practical  training 
in  various  branches  of  industry.  The  Sisters,  who  are  con- 
secrated to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary,  educate  female  youth 
.of  all  classes  of  society,  and  are  also  employed  iu  hospitals 
and  asylums.     The  Sisters  already  number  more  than  2'A) 

in  the  States. 

Among  the  most  prominent  structures  in  New  Orleans 
are  the  great  schools  conducted  by  the  Redemptorisl 
Fathers  of  that  city;  and  among  these  good  men  is  one- 
all  zeal,  all  energy,  all  ardour— whose  name  is  venerated 
in  the  South.  Father  Sheeran  was  one  of  the  most  do- 
voted,  not  to  say  one  of  the  bravest,  of  the  Chaplains  of 
the  Southern  army.     As  cool  under  fire  as  the  oldest  cniu- 


rotlierliood, 
■vvliicli   are 

ion  ill  Los 
they   have 

f  ;  and  this 

jniisylvaniii. 

3hc  country 


n'ease,  so  in 
irch  clisphxy 
want.  New 
ds  of  spirit- 
atioii  of  the 
,pproved  by 
.  flourishing 
its  teaching 
;tion,  up  to 
nents.  The 
:;ig  specially 
3  themselves 
^outli.  The 
relia'ious  in- 


FROM  THE  CAMP  TO  THE  SCHOOL. 


509 


paigner,  one  glance  from  Father  Sheeran's  eye  would  send 
the  waverer  dashing  to  the  front.  And  now  that,  happily, 
the  sword  is  returned  to  the  scabbard,  and  the  generous 
of  North  and  South  can  meet  again  as  brethren,  if  not  as 
friends,  Father  Sheeran  is,  with  his  fellow-priests,  actively 
engaged,  indeed  almost  wholly  engrossed,  in  the  noble 
work  of  Christian  education  ;  which  he  and  they  promote 
with  such  success,  that  1,400  children— the  children  chiefly 
of  Irish  parents — are  educated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  elicit 
the  warmest  and  most  elaborate  praise  from  Protestant 
purnahsts.  New  Orleans  possesses  several  important 
educational  institutions,  academical  and  parochial ;  but 
that  of  the  Redemptorists  is  remarkable  because  of  the 
well-known  career  of  the  famous  Chaplain  of  the  14th 
Louisiana  Regiment. 


o 

istances  and 

* 

ical  training 

vho  are  coii- 

xunale  youth 

i 

in  hospitals 

■ 

re  than  2.')(l 

•^ew  Orleans 

lodemptovisl 

nen  is  one 

is  venerated 

he  most  de- 

Ohaplains  of 

\^ 

oldest  cnau- 

a, I 

ill', 


610 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


Juvenile  Reformation — Opposition  to  Catholic  Reformatories — 
The  two  Systems  Illustrated — Christianity  Meek  and  Loving — 
The  Work  of  the  Enemy — Solemn  Appeals  to  Catholic  Duty. 


•^"^1 


/«» 


IN  their  various  institutions  for  the  protection  and  re- 
formation of  juveniles,  the  Americans  are  keeping 
pace  with^  the  enhyhtened  spirit  of  European  progress. 
They  wisely  believe  that  prevention  is  less  expensive  than 
cure — that,  whatever  their  apparent  costliness,  precaution 
and  prevention  are  certain  to  be  in  the  end  more  econo- 
mical and  more  useful  than  punishment.  They  hold,  wdth 
all  sensible  men  from  the  days  of  Solomon  to  our  own, 
that  it  is  easier  to  incline  the  twdg  than  bend  the  tree- 
to  direct  the  small  stream  into  the  right  channel,  than 
to  deal  with  the  swollen  torrent ;  that  if  vice  is  to  bo 
effectually  suppressed  or  diminished,  you  must  begin  with 
the  beginning.  This  is  the  belief  and  the  policy  of  every 
really  enlightened  man  or  woman  of  the  Old  World  or  the 
New.  In  this  spirit  was  founded  the  Colony  of  Mettray, 
in  France,  and  the  juvenile  reformatory  of  the  Vigna  Pia 
in  Rome,  which,  some  ten  years  since,  I  beheld  in  active 
and  successful  operation.  It  is  in  the  same  spirit  that  the 
Catholic  Church,  now  as  in  former  ages,  in  America  as  in 
Europe,  gathers  under  her  sheltering  wing  the  orphan, 
and  the  '  half-orphan,'  or  the  child  in  danger  of  ruin.  The 
calendar  of  the  Church  is  resplendant  with  the  names  of 
men  and  women  whose   lives  have  been  devoted  to  the 


JUVENILE  REFORMATION. 


511 


utories- 
Loving- 
Duty. 


m  and  re- 
[■e  keeping 
L  progress, 
nisive  tlian 
precaution 
ore  econo- 

liold,  witli 
1  our  own, 

the  tree— 
.nnel,  than 
e  is  to  bo 
begin  with 
ly  of  every 
a-ld  or  the 
'f  Mettray, 
Vigna  Pin 
I  in  active 
it  that  the 
3rica  as  in 
e  orphan, 
ruin.     The 

names  of 
ed  to  the 


sacred   duty   which    modern    philanthropists    and    social 
reformers  are  imitating  at  a  long  distance. 

Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  Catholics  of 
America  in  this  gi'eat  work  of  juvenile  reformation,  thcii 
resources,  at  least  hitherto,  have  not  been  equal  to  meet 
the  evils  arising  from  orphanage,  or  i'rom  the  poverty,  the 
neglect,  or  the  viciousness  of  parents.  Thus  a  wide  field 
was  left  of  necessity  to  those  of  a  different  communion  • 
but  it  is  much  to  be  deplored  that  the  opportunity  of  doing 
good  was  not  always  availed  of  in  the  right  spirit,  and 
that  the  gratification  of  achieving  an  unworthy  triumph 
over  a  rival  sect  was  preferred  to  the  purer  delight  of 
discharging  a  holy  duty  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  charity. 
In  some  few  cases  the  work  of  reformation  was  taken  up 
in  the  right  spirit — in  a  spirit  of  noble  charity,  and  in  the 
loftiest  sense  of  justice  to  one's  neighbour*;  but,  alas  for 
poor  fallible  human  nature  !  in  too  many  instances  it  was 
entered  ujion  as  much  from  a  motive  of  active  hostility,  as 
from  a  desire  to  grapple  with  a  social  evil  of  admitted  mag- 
nitude and  danger.  No  Cathohc  —  especially  no  Irish 
CathoHc — could  be  insensible  to  the  scandalous  nature  of 
the  war  which,  under  the  mask  of  benevolence  and  philan- 
thropy, was  waged  against  the  children  of  poverty  and  the 
victims  of  neglect.  But,  until  lately,  whether  from  want  of 
organisation,  lack  of  means,  or  the  urgency  of  other  claims, 
little  was  done,  save  through  rehgious  institutions,  to 
resist  the  fierce  assault  or  the  insidious  approach  of  the 
proselytiser.  In  the  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Second  Plena^-^' 
Council  of  Baltimore,  the  Bishops  of  the  American  Churcli 
thus  refer  to  this  question  of  vital  moment  : — 

It  is  a  melancholy  ftict,  and  a  very  humiliating  avowal  for  us  to 
make,  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  idle  and  vicious  youth  ol' 
our  principal  cities  are  the  children  of  Catholic  parents.  Whether 
from  poverty  or  neglect,  the  ignorance  in  which  so  many  parents  are 
involved  as  to  the  true  nature  of  education,  and  of  their  duties  aa 
Christian  parents,  or  the  associations  which  our  youth  so  easily  form 
with   those  who   encourage    them  to  disregard   parental    admonition: 


612 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


f^ 


H 


^fw 


certain  it  is,  that  a  large  nural)er  of  Catholic  parent-  "ithcr  appear  to 
have  no  idea  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Christian  fiimil).  and  of  the  re- 
pponsibility  imposed  on  them  of  providing  for  the  moral  training  of 
their  otl'spriiig,  or  fulfil  this  duty  in  a  very  imporlect  manner.  Day 
after  day,  tliese  unhappy  children  are  caught  in  the  commission  of 
])etty  crimes,  wliicli  render  tliem  amenable  to  the  p\iblic  authorities  ; 
and,  day  after  day,  arc  they  transferred  by  luindreds  from  tlia 
Hectarian  reformatories  in  which  they  have  been  placed  by  the  courts, 
to  distant  localities,  where  they  are  brought  up  in  ignorance  of,  and 
most  commonly  in  hostility  to,  the  Religion  in  wJiich  they  have  been 
baptised.  The  only  remedy  for  this  great  and  daily  augmenting  evil 
is  to  provide  Catholic  Protectories  or  Industrial  Schools,  to  which 
such  ciiildren  may  be  sent ;  and  where,  under  the  only  influence  that  is 
known  to  have  really  reached  the  roots  of  vice,  the  youthful  culprit  may 
cease  to  do  evil  and  learn  to  do  good. 

Practical  efforts  have  been  made  to  meet  the  evil ;  and 
In  the  cities  of.  New  York,  Boston,  and  Baltimore,  institu- 
tions for  the  protection  and  reformation  of  criminal  or 
destitute  children  have  been  formed,  and,  though  buL  a 
short  time  in  existence,  are  working  with  marked  success, 
with  the  approval  of  every  liberal-minded  Protestant  of 
those  great  centres  of  American  civilisation.  The  dignified 
and  praiseworthy  attitude  taken  by  Catholics,  in  their 
efforts  to  protect  the  faith  of  helpless  little  ones  of  their 
own  communion,  and  relieve  themselves  from  a  cause  of 
the  gravest  reproval,  excited  a  storm  of  opposition  from 
those  who  had  much  rather  know  that  Catholics  deserted 
their  duty,  and  thus  afforded  their  enemies  the  continued 
power  of  injuring  the  right  of  despising  them. 

'  In  obtaining  our  charter,'  say  the  conductors  of  the 
New  York  institution,  of  which  the  late  Dr.  Ives,  a  distin- 
guished convert,  was  president,  '  we  had  to  struggle  against 
tAvo  objections,  urged  with  surprising  zeal  and  pertinacity. 
The  first,  that  ample  provision  for  vicious  and  destitute 
children  had  already  been  made  by  the  State,  and  that  an 
increase  would  only  tend  to  injure  the  existing  institutions. 
The  second,  that  these  institutions  were  organised  on  the 
fairest  and  most  liberal  basis,  by  excluding  all  distinctive 


OPPOSITION  TO  CATHOLIC  REFORMATORIES.  513 


Iicr  appear  to 
nd  oF  tbe  re* 
111  training  of 
nanner.  Day 
oinmission  of 
c  authorities  ; 
(Is  from  the 
by  the  courts, 
ranee  of,  and 
ey  have  been 
^uienting  evil 
ols,  to  which 
fluence  that  is 
1  culprit  may 


e  evil ;  and 
•re,  institu- 
3riminal  or 
ugh  buu  a 
:ed  success, 
otestant  of 
le  dignified 
3,  in  their 
es  of  their 
a  cause  of 
dtion  from 
js  deserted 
!  continued 

ors  of  the 
s,  a  distin- 
gle  against 
pertinacity. 
1  destitute 
nd  that  an 
tistitutions. 
jed  on  the 
distinctive 


religion  ;  while  the  one  whose  incorporation  wo  sought  was 
professedly  sectarian  in  its  character,  being  placed  under 
the  exclusive  control  of  Catholicjs.'  To  the  first  objection 
they  pleaded,  what  has  since  been  fully  admitted,  the 
enormous  magnitude  of  the  evil,  and  the  iiiadecpiacy  of 
existing  means  to  meet  it ;  and  to  the  second,  that  if  the 
State  had  shown  its  fairness  and  liberality  only  by  ex- 
cluding, in  fact,  all  distinctive  religion  from  its  institutions, 
it  was  high  time  that  one  institution,  at  least,  should 
be  organised  on  a  different  basis  ;  should  professedly  and 
really  make  distinctive  religion  its  actuating  and  control- 
ling power,  as  nothing  short  of  this  could  so  sway  the  hearts 
of  children  as  to  make  them,  in  the  end,  good  Christians 
and  good  men.  The  absolute  falsehood,  in  fact,  of  the 
second  objection  is  thus  torn  to  shreds  in  the  Eeport  :— 

But  the  question  was  jynt:—' Has  the  State  succeeded  in  exclud- 
ing from  its  institutions  all  distinctive  religion,  and  all  sectarian 
ieachbig  and  influence  ?  Inquire  at  "  The  Juvc/dle  Auylum,^^  "  The 
House  of  Iiefuge,''''The  Children's  Aid  Society,''  ''The  Five  Points 
House  of  Industry."  Is  not  the  Protestant  roligion  inculcated  in  those 
institutions,  and  only  the  Catholic  religion  excluded?  Where,  among 
the  managers  of  all  these  institutions,  is  a  Catholic  to  be  found? 
Where,  among  their  superintendents,  their  teachers,  their  preachers, 
do  you  find  a  Catholic?  Where  among  their  acts  of  worship  is  a 
Catholic  act  tolerated?  While,  on  the  other  hand,  who  does  nok 
know,  that  Protestant  worship,  in  all  its  various  forms,  is,  wlthoul 
opposition,  introduced?  And  Protestant  doctrine,  in  all  its  shades 
and  contradictions,  is  inculcated?  Indeed,  we  did  not  find  it  necessary 
to  debate  this  question.  Protestant  periodicals  not  only  admitted  but 
gloried  in  the  facts.  They  boasted  that  the  State  is  Protestant  in  all 
her  institutions,  and  that  it  is  an  act  of  great  indulgence  on  her  part, 
that  Catholicity  is  allowed  to  exist  at  all;  that  we,  as  Catholic^, 
should  be  grateful  that  the  power  of  the  State  hi.s  not  been  invoked 
to  arrest  our  progress  and  put  an  end  to  our  institutions.  Can  it, 
tlierefore,  we  enquired,  be  thought  unreasonable,  while  such  a  spirit 
actuates  the  Protestant  community,  that  Catholic  jiarents  should  be 
averse  to  give  up  their  children  to  Protestant  iiisiiiulions  ;  to  iiiotirutiuns, 
where  Protestant  dogmas  and  practices  are  enforced  upon  them ;  and 
where  they  are  compelled  to  study  books  and  listen  to  addresses  in  which 
the  religion  of  their  fathers  ia  reviled?    We  pressed  the  inquiry  further, 


•  « 
H 

n 

'm 

1 


^31 


BU 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


anfl  asked :  Whothor  it  was  wise  and  statesman-liko  to  inti  educe  u  Rystem 
Of  compulsion.  wluTo  tlio  rights  of  conscicnco  are  coucerntMn  Whuro 
tlie  fuitli  of  Cutliolic  i)art'nts  is  outraged  by  forcing  Catliolic  cliildren 
into  Protestant  asylums?  Whether  peace  and  contentment  in  the 
community  are  likely  to  be  the  result,  of  such  a  system?'  This  was 
the  lino  of  argument  addressed  to  the  lA'gislature,  which,  against 
violent  opposition,  granted  our  charter. 

One  passage  from  the  Report  deserves  special  approval ; 
and  were  the  example  which  it  offers  generally  adopted, 
there  would  remain  but  little  cause  for  anger  or  contention  : 
'A  few  children  belonging  to  parents  not  Catholics  have 
been  sent  to  us  by  the  Courts.  In  such  cases  the  children 
are  received,  if  the  parents  or  guardians  so  request.  If 
they  object,  the  children  arc  returned  to  the  magistrate.  No 
interference  is  allowed  with  the  religious  tenets  of  non- 
Catholics  employed  at  the  Protectory.' 

One  of  tlie  institutions  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  Re- 
port is  the  'New  York  Juvenile  Society.'  In  its  Report 
for  18G3,  there  is  a  table  stating  the  'Religious  instruc- 
tion previous  to  commitment ;'  and  the  result  for  ten 
years,  from  1853  to  the  date  of  publication,  is  as  follows  : 
'Roman  Cathohcs,  5,210  ;  Protestants,  3,933  ;  Jewish,  67  ; 
Unknown,  256— Total,  9,467.'  So  that  the  Cathohcs  were 
in  a  considerable  majority  of  the  whole.  Now,  what  be- 
came of  these  5,210  Catholic  children,  in  an  institution  in 
which,  as  the  Cathohcs  of  New  York  stated  before  the 
Legislature,  no  CathoHc  manager,  superintendent,  teacher, 
or  preacher,  is  tolerated,  and  from  which  the  Catholic 
religion  is  the  only  one  excluded  ?  lu  page  9  of  the  same 
Report,  we  find  these  words  : — 

'  The  benelits  of  the  course  of  training  and  education  pursued  in  tlie 
in-;tiluti()n  is  seen,  not  only  in  the  improved  character  of  the  chiklnii 
relurned  to  their  parents,  but  also  in  ih/d  of  those  sent  to  the  West.  Td 
how  many  children  has  been  open"d  ihere  a  bright  and  prosperous 
future!  Scattered  among  the  farm-houses  of  Illinois,  they  are  mem- 
bers of  co:nlofl;ibl"  households,  many  of  them  adopted  as  sons  and 
da.\ighters.  and  all  in  a  land  where  competence  is  within  the  reach  of 
all.  especially  of  those  who  begin  there  with  an  education  fully  c(jua! 
to  that  of  the  averiige  of  the  farmer's  children  among  whom  tliey 
dwell,  and  with  whom  they  are  prepared  to  keep  pnce.'^ 


THE  TWO  SYSTEMS  ILLUSTRATED. 


615 


ace  i,  system 
led?  Where 
)lic  children 
ment  in  the 
"  This  Wiis 
liich,   against 

approval ; 
Y  adopted, 
ontention : 
Lolics  have 
e  children 
equeat.  If 
strate.  No 
;s  of  non- 

egoing  Ke- 
lts Kcport 
IS  mstruc- 
ilt  for  ten 
as  follows  : 
ewish,  67  ; 
liolics  were 
,  what  be- 
ititntion  in 
before  the 
at,  teacher, 
le  Catholic 
f  the  same 


irsned  in  tlie 

the  cliildrcii 

he  West.     To 

d   prosperdiis 

ley  are  niem- 

as  sons  luid 

tlie  reach  of 

)n  fully  ecjua! 

?  whom   tiiey 


It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  enquire  how  many  of  the 
5,210  Catholic  children  were  'returned  to  their  parents,' 
and  how  many  wore  'sent  to  the  West.'  It  may  be  re- 
marked that  the  '  Juvenile  Asylum '  is  only  one  of  many 
similar  institutions.  Another  extract  from  the  Eeport  is 
most  suggestive  :— 

'  But  not  the  least  valual)l(5  and  interesting  proofs  of 
success  are  the  letters  received  from  our  young  Emigrants 
in  their  new  spheres.  These  letters  are  often  full  of  fihal 
love  and  gratitude  to  the  tcacher,%  who  have  been  to  them 
as  parents,  and  under  whose  kind  care  and  guid.'incc  they 
had  their  first  experience  of  a  happy  life.' 

There  is  no  word  here  of  the  parent,  possibly  the  widow 
of  an  Irish  soldier  who  died  fighting  in  defence  of  the 
Union,  and  whose  boy  got  beyond  her  maternal  control. 
But  in  a  letter  published  in  the  transactions  of  another 
Association — the  'Children's  Aid  Society'  of  Baltimore — ' 
the  following  production  of  a  poor  perverted  child  is 
strangely  published.  It  is  here  given  as  it  appears  in  the 
twenty-sixth  page  of  the  Report  for  18G6  : — 

'  TKANSFKRHKD.' 

'  When  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take 

me  up.'' 

•Mr.  Pat.mer  July  22nd,  18(J6. 

'■Respected  Friend. 

'  I  have  been  thinking  of  writing  too  yon   for   some  time,  i  am  well 

and  1  hope  you  are  the  same  i  like  my  home  very  much  i  went  to 

school   four  months  last   winter  and  had  lots  of  fun,  i  had  two  slay 

rides  i  would  not  be  back  to  Mr.  V.'s  for  any  money  the  country  is 

beautiful  up  hear  we  have  plenty  of  black  berries,     like  the  country 

better  than  the  city,     idont  care  to  know  of  my  parents  for  i  am  better 

off  without  knowing,    philip  and  george  are  well  they  are  both   happy 

and  enjoy  themselves   very   mutch   in   the   country  we  wold  all  of  ua 

like  to  see  you  very  mutch  come  see  us  soon  as  you  can.     Philip  livei 

in  the  same   house   that  i  do  and   George  lives  right  across  the  road 

Mrs.  C  has  a  nice  little  boy  only  two  years  old  i  love  him  very  mutcb 

i  beleave  I  have  told  you  all  at  present. 

M' 


616 


THE  lUISn  IN  AMERICA. 


•••Hi 


Aft  a  contrast  to  the  teaching'  which,  whatever  the  inten- 
tion, had  the  (;l/'('d  of  indiicin<,'  a  wretched  chikl  to  write 
that  odious  sentence — H  dont  cure  to  know  of  my  ^yarents 
for  i  am  hetlcr  oj)'  lo'dhout  Inowing/ — may  be  quoted  an 
extract  from  the  first  year's  Report  of  the  Association 
established  in  13t)ston  for  the  protection  of  Cathohc  child- 
ren. It  will  conmiend  itself  to  the  mind  of  the  Christian 
and  the  heart  of  the  parent  : — 

Next  to  tlieir  duty  to  Almighty  God,  tho  children  are  taught  to 
Lave  regard  to  that  which  tiiey  owe  to  their  parents.  Even  under 
the  old  Law,  God  not  only  commanded,  as  a  duty  of  eternal  obliga- 
tion, that  children  •  honour  and  succour  tlieir  father  and  mother,'  but 
pronounced  a  fearful  ciirHo  upon  such  as  refused  to  comply!  Whih; 
•it  is  a  notorioi'.s  fact,  that  in  His  providence,  all  those  countries  which 
are  characterised  by  a  neglect  of  this  command  are  sunk  to  the  lowest 
degradation  J  and  that  just  in  proportion  as  a  nation  becomes  truly 
civilised,  on  the  basis  of  Christianity,  are  the  domestic  relations  ele- 
vated and  strenijlhened. 

It  has,  therefore,  been  a  matter  of  deep  solicitude  with  the  Mana- 
gers, so  to  discharge  their  duty  as  that  children  may  not  he  alienated 
from  their  parents,  or  led  to  forget  or  disreijurd  their  obliijaiions  to 
them.  Hence  in  all  those  cases  where  children  of  parents  able  to 
support  them  have  buen  committed  for  the  minor  offences,  we  insist 
upon  relurnimj  them  so  soon  as,  in  our  jialijnienf,  it  can  safely  he  done. 
In  regard  to  many  of  this  class  of  young  delinquents,  a  few  weeks 
of  strict  but  kind  discipline  is  found  as  effectual  in  subduing  their 
tempers  and  restoring  a  spirit  of  filial  obedience,  as  a  ranch  longer 
period. 

This  will  account  for  the  number  which  have  already  been  dis- 
charged and  sent  home  to  their  family. 

The  benefit  of  this  policy  is  two-fold :  it  tends  to  strengthen  the 
family  hond,  and  to  promot^'^  the  essential  virtues  of  industry  and 
economy.  For  we  have  not  only  to  avoid  the  serious  evil  of  weaken- 
ing the  tamily  tie  by  unnecessarily  separating  children  from  their 
piirents,  but  also  to  guard  ag-ainst,  what  is  hardly  less  pernicious,  the 
mischief  of  taking  away  from  these  parents  that  main  stimulus  to 
exertion,  the  necessity  of  providing  for  their  own  households. 

From  a  serial,  entitled  '  The  LUtle  Wanderer's  Friend,' 
much  information  may  de  derived  ;  valuable  as  indicating 
the  spirit  in  which  not  a,  few  of  the  so-called  benevolent 


tlio  iriteu- 
Id  to  write 
)ni/  ])arcnts 

(luoted  an 
Association 
liolic  cliild- 
3  Christian 


ire  taught  to 

Even  under 
Lernal  obliga- 

rnotlior,'  but 
iply!  Whilo 
luntries  which 

to  tho  lowest 
)ecomo9  truly 

relations   ele- 

th  the  Mana- 
t  he  aUenaled 
ol>li(jallo7is  to 
•onts  able  to 
cos,  toe  insist 
tafelij  be  done. 

a  lew  weeks 
lb  lining   their 

mucli  longer 

idy  been  dis- 

strengthen  the 
industry  and 
'il  of  weaken- 
in  from  their 
lernicious,  tlie 
1  stimulus  to 
ds. 

r's  Friend,' 

3  indicating' 

benevolent 


CHRISTIANITY  MEEK  AND  LOVING. 


517 


institutions  are  conducted,  and  tlio  nnmoncal  extent  of 
their  operations.  From  the  nnnibor  for  IVFay,  18(15,  an 
interestinf,^  paragraph  or  two  may  be  quoted,  in  ilhistration 
of  the  hberal  and  tolerant  spirit  of  those  institutions  of 
which  that  agreeal)le  little  publication  is  the  accredited 
organ.  A  pleasant  article,  entitled  '  The  Heathen  of  New 
York,'  afl'ords  the  writer  a  happy  theme  for  the  display 
of  his  national  feehngs  and  religious  convictions.  *  Tho 
mass  of  the  population,'  the  writer  says,  'consists  of  the 
most  ignorant,  bigoted,  degraded  foreign  Catlnjlics,  who 
know  no  higher  law  than  the  word  of  their  priests.  Their 
Christianity  is  mere  baptised  heathenism.'  Considering 
the  miserable  condition  in  which  the  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation are  found  by  the  writer,  it  is  fortunate  that  spiritual 
succour  is  so  near ;  for  we  have  this  consolatory  assurance 
in  the  same  article  : — '  AVe  are  in  the   midst  of  it.     Our 

*  mission  is  in  front  of  one  of  their  large  churches — under 

*  the   shadow   of  their   cross.     They   listen   to   our   songs, 

*  ivhile  we    witness    their  idolalry.      They    curse    ivhile  we 

*  gather  in  the  children,  teach  them  the  truth,  feed,  clothe, 
'and  send  them  to  kind  Chridian  homes'  The  mission- 
aries, of  whom  the  writer  is  the  faithful  organ  and  elo- 
quent mouthpiece,  are  not  content  with  their  limited 
sphere  of  action  in  front  of  one  of  the  large  churches  of 
the  '  baptised  heathen '  of  New  York :  they  must  even 
meet  them  on  the  shore,  or  on  the  ship's  deck  ;  and  thus, 
if  they  cannot  arrest  the  in-flowing  tide  of  emigration,  at 
least,  by  extending  the  hand  of  brotherly  love  and  tho 
word  of  God  to  their  poor  misguided  brethren  who  cross 
the  ocean,  convert  it  into  a  deluge  of  enriching  blessedness. 
'Last  year  155,223  persons  landed  here  from  Europe,  of 
'  whom  92,8G1  were  from  poor,  ignorant,  bigoted,  Catholic- 
'  cursed  Ireland.'  In  this  manner  these  unhappy  heatheng 
are  to  be  spiritually  regenerated  :     '  Let  us  meet  them  ere 

*  they  leave,  the  ship,  and  extend  to  them  the  kind  hand 
'  and  the  word  of  God.     They  are  our  misguided  brothers, 


618 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


'Let  us  bo  kind  and  tcacli  them  tlio  truth.     Lot  us  holp 

*  tho  needy  and  teach  them  the  truth.      Let  u«  gather  the 

*  children  in.'  The  chihh-en  are  always  the  objects  of 
the  jiious  soheitude  of  tlioHo  apostoHc  miHsionarics  ;  they 
firKt  feather  tliem  in,  and  they  then  send  them  to  'kind 
Christian  homes,'  in  whicsh  all  memory  of  their  former 
'heathenism'  is  lost.  The  success  of  their  operations  is 
thus  detailed  in  their  own  words  : — 


The  Home  for  the  FriendlenH 

Led  ofr  in  this  work,  niul  for  about  thirty  years  has  opened  ita  arms 
and  embraced  perishing  infancy  and  neglected  cliildhood !  But  how 
little  has  it  done  compared  with  the  work  yet  remaining!  Encouraged 
by  its  success,  a  few  warm-hearted  Methodist  ladies  organised  the 

Five  Points  Ifission. 

They  entered  tho  '  gates  of  hell '  to  save  tho  perishing ;  and  a 
glorious  monument  to  Christianity  has  been  erected  Steadily, 
earnestly,  and  successfully  do  they  labour,  but  want,  sin,  and  woe 
increase  around  them. 


The  Five  Points  House  of  Industry. 

Was  originated  in  1851  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pease,  and  'its  fame  has  gone 
throughout  the  country.'  After  years  of  struggling  he  was  compelU-d 
to  seek  quiet  and  rest.  Mr.  Barlow  took  his  place,  and.  with  an 
earnestru'ss  which  sought  to  imitate  Ilim,  concerning  whom  it  was 
said  '  the  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  tip,'  he  laboured  until 
called  to  exchange  — 'sowing  in  tears'  for  'reaping  in  joy'— to  give 
up  his  abode  in  '  Cow  Bay  '  for  the  'place  '  which  Jesus  said  'I  go  to 
prep&re  for  you.'  Each  year  the  work  increases,  and,  aUli.iigh  since 
1851  over  11,000  have  come  tinder  their  care,  many  of  whom  have  bei»n 
saved,  yet,  to  a  stranger,  ii  seems  as  if  Christianity  had  done  nothing. 

• 

The  Children's  Aid  Society, 

Under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Brace,  with  its  Industrial  Schools- 
lodging  rooms— boys'  meet\ng^~-has  gathered  in  and  sent  to  homes  mori 
children  than  any  other  msiitution  in  the  world  during  the  last  dght  or 
rdneyear;-;,  yet  a  stranger  could  not  perceive  a  ripple  upon  the  Burfact* 
of  this  sea  of  sin  and  want. 


iet  us  help 
(  gather  the 
ol)jc!cts  of 
irics  ;  thoj 
ti  to  'kind 
L'ir  former 
eratioiiH  is 


mod  its  arms 
1!    But  how 
Encouraged 
!(1  the 


ling  ;    and  a 

Steadily, 

■n,   and  woe 


tie  has  gone 
s  coinpelk'd 
tid.  with  an 
horn  it  was 
(ourcd  until 
)y'— to  give 
aid  'I  go  to 
bi.iigh  since 

1    llitVP    bL'i»M 

lothing. 


1  Schools— 
homes  mart 

last  tiijht  or 
the  BiuTactt 


TUE  WORK  OF  TLB  ENEMY.  619 

Our   Own    Work. 

Has  been  so  constantly  kept  before  the  i>\iblic  that  it  sofins  almost 
uselees  to  speak  of  It.  F»>ur  years  ago  this  Ilmiir  for  Lillle  Wandirers 
was  opened,  and  nearly  1,000  childreu  galh»>ic(l  in  the  tlrst  >H-ar.  The 
next  year  1,221,  and  the  hint  year  1,54a. 

With  such  success  attending  their  efforts,  the  reader 
will  learn  without  astcmishmont  that  thoKC  modern  Apostles 
to  the  Gentiles  are  not  discouraged;  they  only  want  more 
faithful  praying  Sunday  School  teachers,  and  four  more 
earnest  Christian  men  as  Missionaries.  'Our  hands  aro 
•tied,'  cries  the  figurative  yet  eminently  practical  organ 
of  the  Mission.  'Four  hundred  and  Jiffy  amU  hind 
« M.S.  Reader  will  you  cut  one  of  them  ?  We  mean,  will 
'  you  be  one  of  the  450  whb  will  give  or  collect  from  your 
'  Sunday  School  or  friends,  and  send  us  $1  per  week  until 
'May  18GG,  and  thus  leave  us  free  from  all  pecuniary 
'anxiety,  and  with  nothing  to  do  hut  to  yalher  the 
'  children  in.' 

It  hJis  been  computed  that,  at  a  low  calculation,  30,000 
children  of  Catholic  parents,  mostly  Irish,  have  been  sent 
to  'kind  Christian  homes,'  through  'Sectarian  Reform- 
atories,' and  institutions  of  a  kindred  spirit.  I  have 
hoard  -50,000  given  as  a  possible  average  ;  and  considering 
that  one  institution  lately  boasted  of  having  sent  10,000 
Catholic  children  to  the  West,  the  number,  though  great, 
is  not  altogether  improbable.  Children  are  at  a  premium 
in  the  West,  especially  if  healthy  and  robust ;  and  dealing 
in  this  description  of  'Hve  stock'  is  not  by  any  means  a 
losing  speculation.  I  was  confidently  informed  that  thirty 
children— one  a  plump  infant  of  a  year  and-a-half— had 
been  sold,  in  Michigan,  to  the  highest  bidder,  not  two 
yem-s  previous  to  the  time  at  which  the  circumstance  was 
mentioned  to  me.  The  children  must  be  disp(3sod  of  in 
one  way  or  other  ;  and  if  a  profit  can  be  made  for  the 
institution,  or  for  the  individual,  through  the  keen  rivalry 


620 


TIIK  IRISH  IN  AMKIIICA. 


) 
I 


•m 
< 


U 


of  Western  fiinoers,  wlio  look  ai)provinf.(ly  nt  the  fiturdy 
thews  unci  sinews  luid  stionn:  liiuhs  of  a  brawny  youn^^' 
'heatlion'  of  Iri^li  birth  or  blood,  who  can  bo  uikuju"^ 
scionablo  enonj^di  to  object  to  an  opcM-ation  so  lc;^atiniato, 
or  so  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  entire  system  of— kid- 
iia])pinf,'  may  be  too  rudo  a  term  to  apply  to  such  institu- 
tions and  such  men,— so  we  shall  say,  of  j,'athering  little 
children  in '? 

Whatever  this  system  may  bo  to  those  engaged  in  it — a 
system,  wo  may  remark,  totally  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of 
modern  legislation  in  this  country,  where  there  are  indus- 
trial   and    reformatory    institutions     purposely    denomin- 
ational in  character,  with  the  view  of  protecting  the  faith 
of   the  most  helpless  class  of  the  comnninity — its  longer 
tolerance   by  the  Catholics  of   America,  and  in  a  special 
manner  by  those  of  Irish  birth  or  descent,  would  be  in  the 
last   degree  shameful  and  discreditable.     Allowance  must 
be  made  for  the  difficulties  of  their  position  hitherto,  owing 
to  the  many  claims  upon   their   means,    and   the   various 
works  which  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Catholic  Church  to 
undertake  ;   but  they  are  now  too  numerous,  too  powerful, 
and  too  influential,  to  submit  to  the  continuance  of  that 
wliich  is  degrading  to  them  as  Catholics,  and  deeply  dis- 
honouring to  them  as  Inshmen.     There  can  be  no  mincing 
terms  as  to  what  is  their  manifest  duty.     The  past,  with 
all  its  bitterness  and  shame,  is  irrevocable  ;   but  there  is 
the  present  as  well  as  the  future,  and  if  they  cannot  restore 
the   faith   to   those    who   have    lost   it — not    through   the 
worthiest  or  most  honourable  means — they  should  at  least 
take  care  themselves  to  gather  in,  under  the  shelter  of  the 
Church,    the   miserable   victims    of    poverty,    neglect,  and 
vice,  and  restore  them  to  society  as  good  Christians  and 
useful   citizens.     The   wide  influence   of    CathoKc   Schools 
will   do   much   to   counteract   the   evil ;    but    the   general 
imitation  of  the  good  work  so  auspiciously  commenced  in 
New  York,    and   Boston,   and    Baltimore,   will  prove   the 


fit  the  sturdy 
(I'HWiiy  youn«^' 
111  1)0  uiioou- 
Ho  lcjL,dtiuiHto, 
Btoju  of — kid- 
Hut'h  iiiHtitu- 
Ltlieriiig  littlo 

^Rf^ed  in  it — a 
the  spirit  of 
t'G  are  indiis- 
ily  donomin- 
iiig  the  faith 
y — its  longer 

in  a  special 
Lild  be  in  the 
3\vance  must 
:herto,  owing 

the  various 
c  Church  to 
.00  i30werfu], 
ance  of  that 
[  deeply  dis- 

no  mincing 
le  i^ast,  with 
but  there  is 
mnot  restore 
through  the 
)uld  at  least 
lieltor  of  the 
neglect,  and 
iristians  and 
olic  Schools 
the  general 
)ninienced  in 
1  prove   the 


SOLEMN  AITKALS  TO  CATHOLIC  DUTY. 


621 


readiest  and  most  direct  moans  of  redooming  tlio  honour 
of  tlio  Catholics  of  America  ;  at  tlio  same  time  afVordiiig 
benevolent  people  of  other  communities  an  undisturbed 
opportunity  of  attending  to  their  own  criminal  or  destitute 
children. 

The  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Plenary  Council  of  18(>G, 
thus  refers  to  this  subject : — 

Wo  rejoice  that  in  somo  of  our  dioccsfis — would  that  wo  couhl  siiy 
ill  all! — a  bt'<?lnnlng  haH  boen  mado  in  this  good  work,  and  wo  cannot 
too  oarnfrttly  exhort  our  Vonerablo  Brethren  of  the  Clergy  to  bring 
lli'w  matter  before  their  respectivo  flocka,  to  endeavour  to  impress  on 
Cluistian  parents  tho  duty  of  guarding  their  children  from  the  evils 
above  referred  to,  and  to  Invito  them  to  make  porsovcring  and  etfoctiial 
elforts  for  tho  establishmout  of  institutions  wlun'oin.  under  tho  Influ- 
enco  of  religious  teachers,  tho  waywardness  of  youth  may  bo  corrected 
an<l  good  seed  planted  in  the  soil  in  which,  while  men  slept,  tho  enemy 
had  sowed  tares. 

These  solemn  and  hopeful  words,  addressed  to  a  Catholic 
audience  at  New  York,  in  1864,  by  the  late  Dr.  Ives — one 
of  the  most  illustrious  converts  to  tho  Church  in  America, 
and  the  master-spirit  of  the  reformatory  movement — may 
be  listened  to  as  to  a  voice  from  tho  tomb :  '  But,  whatever 
the  State  may  do,  the  duty  of  Catholics  is  plain,  and  will 
be  done.  The  probability  of  failure  in  this  great  under- 
taking cannot  be  admitted.  Dark  as  the  day  is,  and  heavy 
as  are  its  burdens.  Catholics  will  be  found  ecpial  to  them. 
The  work  in  our  hands  will  succeed ;  it  is  God's  work- 
dictated  by  His  spirit,  demanded  by  His  Drovidence, 
undertaken  in  His  name,  carried  on  in  His  strength  and 
for  His  glory.  I  feel  that  it  is  no  presumption  to  affirm 
that  it  will  not  fail' 


522 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


CHM-TF.R  XXIX. 


The  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltiniore -Protestant  Tribute 
to  tlic  Catholic  Church— Projjross  of  Catholicity — IiiHtances  of 
its  Proo;ress~The  Past  and  the  i'resent— The  Church  in  Chicap;o 
and  New  York— Catholicity  in  Boston  -Anticipations  not  Real- 
ised—Xuinher  of  Catholics  in  th(^  States — Circumstances  of 
Protestant  and  Catholic  Emigrant  Dillerent— Loss  of  Faith  and 
Indilferentisui. 


3 


i 

0 


IN  tlio  Socoiul  Plenary  Council  of  Baltinioro  the  Ciitliolic 
Clmrcli  of  America  presontecl  a  aing-ularly  grand  and 
imposing  spectacle.  Rarely  has  Rome  herself  witnessed 
a  more  august  assembly,  and,  more  rarely  still,  one  so  re- 
markable in  its  character.  Even  in  numbers — according  to 
Archbishop  Spalding,  its  venerable  President — it  was  the 
largest  ever  held  in  Christendom  since  the  Council  of  Trent, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  held  at  Rome  under  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  But  though  this  asseml)lage  of  the 
Spiritual  Chiefs  of  this  young  and  vigorous  branch  of  the 
Universal  Church  consisted  of  seven  Archbishops,  thirty- 
eight  Bishops,  and  three  Mitred  Abbots^in  all,  forty-nine 
Mitred  Prelates — it  was  more  remarkable  for  the  wisdom 
and  dignity,  and  weight  of  character,  of  the  learned  and 
able  men  of  whom  it  was  composed;  and  still  more  so  for  the 
unbroken  unity  which  it  presented  in  so  brief  a  period  after 
the  termination  of  the  deadliest  struggle  that  ever  con- 
vulsed a  country  or  rent  a  people  asunder.  The  wonderful 
progress  of  the  Church,  which  this  majestic  assembly  made 
manifest  even  to  the  dull  or  the  unbelieving,  was  a  subject 
of  surprise  to  friends  as  to  enemies  ;  but  its  unbroken  unity, 
while  a  cause  of  confusion  to  some,  who  contrasted  with  it 
the  several  branches  of  their  own  distracted  churches,  was 


THE  SECOND  I'I.ENAUV  COUNCIL  OF  BALTIMORE.        523 


lit  Tribute 
istivnces  of 
ill  Cliiciififo 
not  Jioal- 
sttiricos  of 
Faith  and 


the  Ciitliolic 
'  grand  and 
f  witnessed 
,  one  so  re- 
icoording  to 
-it  was  the 
cil  of  Trent, 
le  under  the 
iage  of  tlie 
•ancli  of  the 
lops,  thirty- 
.1,  forty-nine 
the  wisdom 
Learned  and 
•re  so  for  the 
j)eriod  after 
it  ever  con- 
e  wonderful 
embly  made 
vas  a  subject 
L'oken  unity, 
,sted  wath  it 
Lurches,  was 


regarded  without  astoni.shniont  by  those  who  eith(!r  under- 
stood the  principles  of  Catholicuty,  or  watched  the  conduct 
of  the  Church  during  the  war. 

Fourteon  years  l)(ifore,  the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Bal- 
timore was  held ;  since  then  there  had  been  added  to  the 
Catholic  hierarchy  one  Archbishop  and  fourteen  Bishops  ; 
and  now,  from  the  Hecond  Plenary  Council,  there  goes 
f(3rth  an  appeal  to  Home  for  the  creation  of  fourteen  addi- 
tional Bish()i)S !  In  the  Pastoral  Letter  they  say  :  '  We 
have  also  recommen(h^d  to  the  Holy  See  the  erection  of 
several  additional  Episcopal  Sees,  and  Vicariates  Apostolic, 
which  are  made  necessary  by  our  rapidly  increasing  Catho- 
lic pojiulation,  and  the  great  territorial  extent  of  many  of 
our  present  Dioceses.' 

In  the  same  Pastcu'al,  the  progress  of  the  Church  is 
thus  indicated  :  '  We  continue  to  have  great  consolation  in 
witnessing  the  Jidvance  of  lleligion  througliout  the  various 
dioceses,  as  shown  in  the  multiplication  and  improved 
architectural  character  of  our  churches,  the  increase  of 
piety  in  the  various  congregations,  and  the  numerous  con- 
versions of  so  many  who  have  sacrificed  early  ]irejudices 
and  every  consideration  of  their  temporal  interests  and 
human  feelings  at  tho  shrine  of  Catholic  Truth.' 

The  constitution  of  this  august  assembly  of  wise  and 
/  learned  men  is  not  without  interest,  even  as  affordiuir 
a  further  illustration  of  the  universality  of  the  Ca  1  olic 
Church.  In  the  division  into  nationalities  we  find  the 
Irish  element  stronger  than  would  at  first  appear.  Of  tho 
forty-nine  Mitred  Prelates  who,  with  the  clergy,  composed 
the  Council,  sixteen  are  set  down  as  American,  nine  Irisli, 
twelve  French,  two  Flemish,  three  Spanish,  two  Swiss,  one 
Austrian,  and  two  German.  But  of  the  sixteen  American 
Prelates,  about  one-half  are  of  Irisli  blood — nearly  all 
of  these  the  sons  of  Irisli-l)orn  parents.  Thus  fully  two- 
thirds  of  the  Enghsh-speaking  Bishops  of  the  Ameiicm 
Church  owe  their  origin  to  that  country  which  is  now,  cs 


624 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


ii  was  in  ronioto  ng'os,  tlio  most  snocossfnl  ]>i'0])!i{j^an(li.st  of 
(Jatholiciiy.*  Snnmj^  IVoiu  (lilVcront  braiu-lios  oi  tli(i  hii- 
iiiaii  family,  ropr(>s(>Mtii\i»'  dillc'roiit  races,  sjx'akin^'  in  dilVcr- 
(Mit  toiij^uos,  i^-allicnul  toj^otlu!!'  from  Sial(>,H  and  i(vrrit()ri(!s 
soparatcd  by  tliousaiids  of  milos,  ilioy  wero  animated  bnt, 
by  one  motive  and  foeliiijj;.  AVlicn  roplyiii<,^  to  the  addrcsn 
pi'oscntod  to  him  by  Archbishop  rnrccll  in  the  name  of 
tho  assembled  Prc^lates  and  Clergy,  Archl)ishop  Spalding 
puts  tliis  point  prominently  forward  : — 


,^'4 


'ITcvowo  liiivo  vononvliU'  PrclatoH  fi-oiii  all  piirls  of  tliis  groat  and 
vast  ivpiiblio,  soino  of  whom  Iiiivtt  eoino  live  or  six  thousand  iiiiloH ; 
have  come  at  my  voice,  because  in  my  voic(^  lliey  reco^iiilscd  the  voic(! 
of  I'eter  and  ol  Ciiiist.  .  .  .  We  came  logetlier  to  devise  ways  and  meaUvS 


...id 


< 


*  Thoro  was  luisscil  from  Iho  asaoTnbly  this  loiif^'-familiar  fac(!  of  oiio  wlio, 
mcok  ami  inild  and  K''i>tli'.  liail  for  thrcoaiiil-tliirty  years  slicd  llii!  steady  liglit 
of  liis  wisdom  on  Ihe  eoiiiieils  of  his  venerable  hretliren  of  the  American  epis- 
oopaey.  ■ihre(>  years  before,  Francis  I'alrick  Kenrick  departed  this  UU',  after  li 
Iohh;  and  lionoiired  career  A  jjreat  li'ishman,  Arclibishop  Keni'ick  was  not  so 
famous  in  tlu>  world  as  liis  countrymen.  lUsliop  MnKlaiid  and  Ai'chliishop  l[u^'h(\s  ; 
but  if  ho  lacked  their  shininf^  (pialilit'S,  their  stirrin;:  elo(iuenc(>,  and  tin!  bold- 
iiess  and  enerj^y  by  which  they  wi're  distinnuislu'd,  he  was  eminent  not  only 
for  tho  swtctest  and  ;;entlest  nature,  (he  most  modest  and  hnmblo  disposition, 
but  for  a  scholarshi])  as  rare  as  it  was  profound.  When  lio  was  consecrated,  in 
181!;),  the  American  Church  was  in  its  infaui'y,  its  followin-'  Hcaiecly  amounting; 
io  tlie  onetwentielh  of  ds  pres.'ut  ma;;nitude.  As  IJisliop  of  I'hiladelphia  hii 
had  his  full  shai'e  of  ti'ial  an(l  ti'ibulation  durin;;  (he  lonj,'  years  (  f  early  strujj^ile, 
of  active  hostility  and  oicasional  persi'cution,  a^;,'ravared  by  (he  I'vil  of  in- 
ternal dissen^aon  ;  but  he  did  not  close  his  eyes  to  this  world  until  he  beheld  tho 
wonderful  prof^ress  of  the  Clnirch  which  he  so  signally  served,  and  so  sIriliiuKly 
adorned  by  his  virtues.  Notwith.-itandiUfT  his  unceasin),'  devoion  to  tlu!  didies 
of  his  exalted  ollice,  whether  as  liishop  of  IMidadelphia  or  Arclibishop  of  JJatti- 
iniu'o.  he  found  time  (o  enrich  Catholic  literature  with  many  of  thi!  most 
wihiablo  works  that  could  lind  a  iilac<!  in  Uu\  libi'ai'y  of  a  lavnian  or  an  ecele- 
siastii'.  ISesides  an  exhaustive  '.freatise  on  tlu;  I'i'iniacy,  and  .a  Course  of  1'lie- 
olofjty,  hi!,'hly  estimated  by  professors  as  well  as  stuilenis,  he  translated  and 
aniiiitated  the  Sacred  ."-'eripturcs  ;  and  (he  most  competent  jud^'es  .-idnnt  this 
bis  {,'reatest  work  io  be  a  model  of  the  most  varieil  and  profouml  erudition. 
I'.ut,  th'iufjh  as  simple  and  unprctcndiut,'  as  a.  child,  though  modest  ami  j^cnde, 
he  could  bo  as  stern  as  brass  when  duly  required,  and  priucijile  was  at  slake. 
Hisliiip  Hughes  himself  eo\dil  not  have  niiu'e  bold  y  fiued  (Ik;  eontuuuu'ious 
of  liis  liock  tluin  did  lUshop  Ki'urick  beard  and  conquer  Dio  prosumiituous 
trustees  of  Pittsburg. 

'Thocbur-li  is  yours,'  he  said  to  them,  horn  the  pul[>it  of  St.  Patrick's.  'You 
have  :i  perfect  right  to  do  what  you  jdeaso  with  it.  I  claim  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  any  apjiropriation  of  it  von  wish  to  make.  You  may  make  of  it,  if  you 
will,  a  factory,  and  I  will  not  interfere.  ]5ut  (hero  is  one  (hing  which  I  do  tell 
you.  and  it  is  tins  :  if  you  wish  it  to  bo  a  (!atholic  church,  you  must  omnply 
wi.'h  tho  requirement  of  tlie  law  which  1  have  laid  before  you.  Now,  do  as  you 
please.' 

To  th(>  zeal,  energy,  and  wisdom  of  Pr.  Kenrick  are  (he  Irish  of  the  diocc-^e 
Of  Philadelphia  to  a  considerable  e.\tont  indebted  for  tho  .siiiritual  advautagoa 
Uiey  now  so  abundantly  enjoy. 


rROTI'LSTANT  TiUDlJTI-:  TO  THE  CAl'IIOLIC  CHURCH.    525 


ifj^andi.st  of 
(jf  tlu^  liu- 
)J4'  ill  dilVcr- 
t(vrrit()ri(!H 
inijitcd  Imt 
ho  JiddrcsH 
G  iiiinio  of 
.>   8p<'ildiii{^ 


Ills  groat  and 
uhiuhI  miles  ; 
iscd  tlio  voict; 
ys  und  meuiiH 


((    of     OHO    WllO, 

111!  stciidy  liglit 
Amciican  opis- 
lis  liCi',  al'U!!'  a 
ick  wiis  not  BO 
isliop  l[ll),'ll(^s  ; 
,  1111(1  tilt!  liold- 
iiiciit  not  only 
bl()  tlispoHitioii, 
coiiscinilc'd,  in 
I'i'ly  aiiioiintin).; 
'Iiiliulclpliiii  ho 

early  stiii^j^ilc, 
u'  I'vil  of  in- 
il  111"  bi-lii'ld  tlio 
1(1  so  Hli'ikiiij^ly 
1  to  tlio  (liitit'S 
lishop  of  J?alti- 
*•  of  tlii^  most 
;iii  or  an  ccclc- 
lloiirso  of  'J'Ih>- 
traiislatcd  and 
,'is  .•idiiiit  this 
mild  cnidilioii. 
est  anil  i^ciillc, 
,1  was  at  sialic. 
!   (•oiitiiiiiacioiis 

pi'i'sniiiptnons 

'atrick'a.  'Yon 
rif^lit  to  intcr- 
kc  of  it,  if  vou 
which  I  do  'tell 
I  luiust  coinply 
Sow,  do  as  yon 

of  tlu!  diocese 
iial   iulvautagoa 


to  carry  ouL  \\w.  pmposi'  for  wliidi  ('liri.st,  diod  on  Ui<*  Ciosh.  to  sav« 
liicii.  lo  liiiid  tliciri  (djictlHT  in  nnily  and  charily,  and  to  make  llicin 
lead  lioiy  livrs.  Absoilicd  in  tliis  {rrt-at  object.  \v<?  liavo  Hoarod  Inr 
above  I  lie  re.!j;i(ins  oC  wtornis  and  clonds  into  the  |)iire  atinospiiere  ol" 
(Jod,  where  there  is  no  controversy  or  contention  Vitirriid  up  by  iiiunan 
jiassion  ;  and  men  sprunjjr  IVom  varions  nations,  in  tills  (Jonn(;iI,  liave 
lost  sijrlit  of  all  di(I"erences  of  nationality  and  temperameni,  and  have 
})h'nded  in  that  beautil'nl  unity  and  harmony  which  Hit;  (Jalholic 
Chnrch  can  alone  e.vhlblt. 

Tlio  }iss(!iiil)liii^'  of  iho  CoiiiKril  (!lici1(>d  from  uu  Jible 
iunvsi);ip(U'  of  IJ.iltinioro,*  a  tcsthuony  to  tlio  ooiiduot  of  tlio 
j^/jitliolic,  (jlmr(;li,  whioli  tlioroiij^lily  rojji'csoiits  wliat  I  have 
JKMird  oxpressod  in  moro  than  aliundrod  iiistancos  throii^h- 
ont  tlio  Stat(>,s.  I  find  it  quot(!d,  anioii}^"  other  artiolos 
h'om  tlio  public  proH.s,  in  tlio  volume  coni.'iiniii;^  the;  olUcial 
record  of  this  momorablo  manifoHtation  of  the  progress 
of  the  Church.  I  know  it  roproHonts  tin;  idmost  universal 
f(!olin<4'  of  the  South,  and  of  all  but  the  o.Ktrcmo  or  violent 
of  tho  North  : — 

15nt  while  we  do  not  j)ropose  to  entiir  ujion  a  themo  so  nearly 
boniidless,  and  involving?  so  many  considerations  which  divide  the 
minds  ol'  men,  it  is  Jnit  api)ropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  it  certainly 
is  a  pIcMisnre  to  us  to  say.  that  th(^  conrsi*  of  tin;  (Jl(;r<j^y  ol'  the  Jtonian 
Catholic  Church,  during  our  late  civil  dissensions,  vnW  make  this 
demonstration  ol"  its  vitality  and  vigour  very  welcome  to  multitudes, 
who,  but  a  little  while  ago.  would  have  witnessed  it  with  jealous 
ciuicern.  With  but  lew  exci'ptions — and  those  chiefly  noted  for  their 
I'arity — the  pri(!sthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Comnumioii  have  k(.'iit 
their  hands  cltnm  of  brothers'  blood.  Tln^y  have  ])reached  only  the 
Gospel,  and  tho  great  doctrines  of  peace  and  good  wiH  on  which  it 
rests,  and  have  not  sullied  their  altars  with  fratricidal  emblems,  or 
turned  their  anthems  of  jjraise  into  songs  of  hate  and  war.  In  the 
camps  of  both  armies  they  were  ministers  of  (Jod  only,  and  faithful 
to  their  high  calling  amid  the  terrors  of  the  battle-fndd  and  tho 
dangers  of  the  pest  house  and  the  hospital;  they  dedicated  them- 
selves exclusively  to  tho  alleviation  of  bodily  sulfering  and  the  gentle 
and  holy  ministerings  of  religious  consolation.     It  is  for  this  that  men 

•■"  The  a  ize/h-  of  the  Kill  of  Octi«l)er,  180(1  Tlio  arficio,  with  otluT.-;,  is  imhli:-.hi:d 
vvitli  tho'iTi'ocoedint,'H  of  tho  Council,  in  a  neat  volnuie  b}  Kflly  Ar  Piet  of  Ualtimore, 
with  tho  aiiiiroval  of  the  Archbishop. 


626 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMElilCA. 


rovoreiico  flicm  to-day,  who,  t(Mi  yoars  ago.  would  havo  boen  prornpled 
by  prcjudico  to  revilo  tlieni.  It  is  for  lliis  (hat  tlio  Cliui-cli,  wIiohh 
iniuistcrs  tlicy  aw,  is  recognised  now  l)y  (hou.saiKls  who  dispute  its 
creed  as  a  wortiiy  depository  and  teacher  of  the  sacred  truths  which, 
in  making  nieu  Christians,  make  tlieni  love  ono  anotiier.  In  all  liio 
jiroud  annals  of  the  Church  of  liomo  there  is  no  prouder  page  than 
Mial  which  records  her  purity  and  steadfastness  and  itidependence— her 
indill'erence  alike  to  tho  threats  and  seductions  of  power  during  the 
Confederate  Revolution. 

Seduction  cotild  not  betray  the  Cliurcli  from  tlie  straight 
path  of  hor  duty  ;  and  to  threats,  thoii<^h  backed  by  thd 
poAver   of  armed  legions,  she  opposed  that  same  su1)Hi«g 
'Non   2)0f^mmns'  by   which  the  Sovereign    Pontiff  has    so 
persistently  l)alHed  the  wiles   of   political    intriguers,  and 
resisted  the  fiercest  rage  of   the  enemies  of  the  Papacy. 
'  AVe  cannot  do  tliis  evil  thing— we  cannot  prostitute  our 
'pulpits  to  the  worst  passions  of   man — wo,  ministers  of 
'peace,   cannot    preach    havoc  and    slaughter — avo  cannot 
'  desecrate  God's  temple  by  substituting  for  tlio  Cross  the 
'  baiuier  of  human  strife.'     This  was  the  Non  Possumus  of 
the  American  Church.     Two  Prelates— one  of  them  of  the 
most    eminent   rank— Avere   called    on    during   the    great 
struggle   to   exhibit   this   courage,  in   Avhich  the  Catholic 
Church  has  ever  excolled.     To  the  order  of  a  general,  hii-h 
in  command,  that  a  flag  should  be  displayed  on  his  cathe- 
dral, the  Archbishop,  a  meek  and  saintly  man,  replied,  in 
the  spirit  of  the  old  Koman— had  that  old  Pioman  been  a 
Christian— 'My  banner  is  there  already;    that    banner  is 
the  Cross  of  Christ— none  other  shall    be  there,  Avith  my 
consent.'     Coarse  threats  AA^n-e  used  in  the  second  instance, 
and  ev^en  personal  violence  Avas  not  altogether  improbable ; 
but  the  undismayed  Prelate,  a  man  of  lofty  stature,  drcAV 
himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and,  as  he  seemed  to  fill  the 
entrance  to  his    cathedral  Avith   his  sAvelling  form,  he  ex- 
claimed to  those  Avho  were  rudely  pushing  on — 'Then,  if 
you  attempt  to  pass,  it  must  be  over  my  dead  body  ;    for 
80  long  as  I  live,  no  war  flag  shall  desecrate  the  he  use  of 


PllOGIlESS  OF  CATHOLICITY. 


627 


boon  prom  pled 
Cliurcli,  wli()H« 
ho  (lisputo  ile 
I  trulliH  wliicli, 
or.  In  all  tlio 
idor  pii<;i)  than 
'pcmlcuct^ — luT 
iVor  during  tlio 


-'kc(l  by  tli<| 
iiino  KuMiirte 
iitiff  lias    so 
ingucrs,  and 
Oio  Papacy, 
ostituto  our 
niiiistcrs  of 
-wo  cannot 
10  Cross  the 
'ossmmis  of 
thoni  of  tlie 
f   the    great 
he  Catholic 
cncral,  hi£>h 
n  his  catho- 
1,  replied,  in 
man  been  a 
banner  is 
re,  with  my 
tid  instance, 
niprobablc ; 
ature,  drew 
:1  to  fiU  the 
)rm,  he  ex- 
-'Thon,  if 
])ody  ;    for 
le  he  use  of 


God.'  The  Clergy  caught  the  spirit  of  their  bishoi)H,  and 
displayed  a  quiet  resistance  to  the  rcMpiirements  of  vehe- 
ment i)artisans  which  was  little  short  of  heroic.  Thus,  in 
a  moment  of  the  severest  trial  did  the  Catholic  Church  of 
Anu^rica  maintain  a  strict  neutrality,  increase  and  extend 
lior  means  of  uscifulness,  and  secure  tlie  respect  of  those 
wh<3  admire  consistency,  or  who  deplored  the  disastrous 
consecpience  of  a  war  which  they  were  powerless  to  prevent. 

Those  who  loolc,  as  I  do,  to  the  present  and  continuous 
progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  that  which  most  inti- 
mately concerns  and  most  di^eply  involves  the  future  of 
the  Irish  in  vVmerica,  cannot  but  regard  that  progi-ess  with 
feelings  of  the  keenest  satisfaction.  Though  not  yet  equal 
to  the  unparalleled  increase  of  the  Catholic  population,  it 
is  su{h(uently  so  to  prevent  that  loss  of  faitli  of  which  so 
much  has  been  said,  too  often  in  a  spirit  of  exaggera- 
.tion,  and  to  counteract  that  tendency  to  indiiJtV;rentism 
which  is  unhappily  to  be  met  with  in  the  States.  Since 
18(51  the  progress  of  the  Church  has  been  literally  mar- 
vellous. Thus,  while  in  18G1  the  number  of  Priests  was 
2,317,  and  the  churches  2,519,  the  number  of  Priests  in 
1807  is  3,252,  and  the  number  of  churches  3,500— an 
increase  of  nearly  1,000  priests  and  1,000  churches  in 
these  few  years.  In  the  course  of  the  following  year  there 
will  be  about  GO  dioceses  in  the  United  States ;  prol)ably 
in  ten  years  after  there  will  be  a  necessity  for  20  additional 
sees ;  and  those  who  live  to  the  year  1900  may  behold 
100  Mitred  Prelates  of  the  Cathrlic  Church  of  America 
assembled,  if  not  in  the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore,  possibly 
in  one  of  those  gorgeous  temples  which  are  now  rising  in 
the  centres  of  vast  Catholic  populations,  and  for  rivals  to 
which  one  must  look  to  France  or  Germany,  or  Italy — to 
some  of  those  majestic  monuments  of  piety  erected  by  a 
Prince  or  a  People,  a  Monarch  or  a  Pope. 

A  few  examples  illustrative  of  individual  Dioceses  or 
States  will  afford  a  better  idea  of  the  general  progress  of 


fj 


..     * 


IS 


l'i«! 


628 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMKRICA. 


tlio  Clmrcli  iliiin  a  Ruinmary  of  ilio  r(>siilt  couvtiycd  in  a 
more  'total  '  Talco,  hn'  instance,  tlio  ])i()ceHc  of  Milwau- 
koo,  ('t)nipvisin<jf  the  Stato  of  "\ViHiH)nsin. 

Up  to  tlio  yiy.ir  18IM  IVIilwaula^o  was  the  excliiHivo.  homo 
of  tlu!  ll(ul  Indian ;  when  in  that  year  a  Fronch.  Canadian, 
■who  is  now  about  ton  years  dead,  Kottled  there,  as  a  trad('r 
in  fiu'H.  This  first  white  settlor  was  jnstly  called  the 
father  of  the  city  that  soon  after  rose  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
]\Iicliio-iin,  and  the  founder  of  th(5  Church  of  which  ho  was 
the  earliest  and  most  liberal  bonefactor.  It  was  not  until 
towards  the  year  IHIiT  that  the  Catholics  of  Milwaukee  had 
the  services  of  a  priest  permanently  settled  in  that  city. 
The  Ilov.  Patrick  Kelly  then  became  the  pastor  of  some 
thirty  souls.  In  1880  the  first  church  was  erected  in 
INtilwaukee,  and  was  the  only  church  in  the  entire  of  tiu; 
Territory,  since  the  State,  of  Wisconsin.  In  1840  the 
population  of  the  rising  city  was  about  2,000,  the  Catholics 
being  thfui  one-third  of  the  whole.  In  March  1814  the 
diocese  of  Milwaukee  was  erected,  the  Eight  Ilev.  John 
Martin  Heiiiii  being  appointed  35ishop.  The  Bishop  found 
in  his  vast  diocese  a  Catholic  Hock  of  20,000,  scattered  in 
every  direction,  twenty  churches,  most  or  them  of  the 
rudest  construction,  and  two  priests — the  Rev.  Martin 
Kundig  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Morissey.  But  behold  the 
wonderful  change  elVected  in  a  few  years,  the  result  of 
European  emigration.  Where  there  were  20  so-called 
churches  in  1844,  there  are  now  322  churches,  IG  chapels, 
and  75  stations ;  and  where  there  were  but  2  priests,  thero 
are  now  103 — besides  2  ecclesiastical  seminaries,  2  malo 
academies,  0  female  academies,  8  religious  communities, 
and  5  charitable  institutions,  with  a  Catholic  poimlatioii, 
mostlv  Irish  and  German,  of  400,000.  As  an  illustration 
of  the  amazing  growth  of  religious  institutions  in  the 
fruitful  soil  of  the  West,  the  development  of  a  single  one,— 
tliat  of  the  (3rder  oi'  '  Notre  Dame,' — might  bo  cited.  It  is 
not  more  than  sixteen  years  since  four  Sisters  of  this  famous 


INSTANCES  OF  Tllli)  PROGRESS  OF  CATHOLICITY.      620 


ariea,  2  iiialo 


order  fouiul(Hl  a  Iiouko  in  IVTilwaulcoe, — tlio  first,  liouso  in  tlio 
8tat('H  ;  and  now  tlio  Order  is  rcprcsonicd  ])y  58  convents 
in  dillbront  parts  of  the  Union,  and  nearly  500  SisterH, 
wlio  eda(!at(!  and  train  more  than  20,000  ehildnai.  In  the 
month  of  Au^nist,  18(17,  00  ladies  received  the  white  Y<iil 
and  IJ8  received  the  black  veil,  in  the  iJKjther  lioiiHo 
of  Milwaukee.  Besidew  the  Order  of  Notre  Dame,  the 
diocese  enjoys  the  services  of  Sisters  of  the  Dominican 
and  Franciscan  Orders.  For  this  wond(!rfnl  pr()«,a'ess  of 
the  Chun^h  and  {growth  of  rtsli^n'ous  instituticms,  '  wo  are, 
luider  th(!  blessinj,^  of  (lod,  indebted  to  the  zeal,  untiring 
cnerf^y,  and  good  jiidj^mont  of  our  vcnera]>le  and  beloved 
bishop,'  writes  an  excels 'lit  Irishman,  who  has  risen  to 
high  honour  in  the  city  of  his  ado])tion.  As  a  finish  to 
this  picture,  it  may  be  added,  that  the  aHS<!m])led  bishops 
of  the  Council  of  Baltimore  recommended  the  division  of 
the  State  of  AVisconsin  into  three  dioceses,  witli  Milwaukee 
as  an  Archiepiscoi)al  see. 

Brooklyn,  which  in  1834  was  attended  by  a  single  priest, 
has  now  twenty-four  or  twenty-five  churches  in  the  city 
alone,  with  at  least  12,000  children  educated  under  the 
care  of  religious  Orders — of  Mercy,  Charity,  St.  Dominic, 
the  Visitation,  St.  Joseph,  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Christian 
Brothers,  and  Brothers  of  St.  Francis.  New  churches  are 
now  being  erected  throughout  the  diocese,  as  well  as  in 
the  city ;  and  in  the  latter  an  entire  square  is  devoted  to 
the  site  of  a  magnificent  cathedral,  which  will  be  a  model 
of  architectural  si)lendour.  The  Irish  mainly  constitute 
the  Catholic  population  of  Brooklyn,  as  of  New  York,  and 
most  of  the  Eastern  cities.  Still  in  this,  as  in  other  dioceses 
— indeed,  in  all  dioceses — more  priests  are  required.  Of 
the  thirty  other  churches,  besides  those  of  the  city,  we  find 
that  some  are  attended  every  two  weeks,  several  once  a 
month,  and  one  only  every  six  weeks.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
progress — progress — progress — in  all  directions. 

In   1847  Bishop   Timon   took   possession  of   the  see   of 

23 


630 


Till-:  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


^^^"' 


*7 


1% 

n 


1 

.3 


< 


BnlViilo,  wlioro,  to  use  Iuh  own  woihIh,  •  in  tho  now  diocoHo 
tlioro  Avoro  tlioii  sixteen  |)riostH  and  sixtiHin  clmrcluss  ; 
thoiiyli  most  of  tlioso  cliurclicH  nii^hi  rather  bo  called  huts 
or  shanties.'  That  venerali)Ui  prelate  -whom  I  liad  the 
salisfaction  of  meetinj^^  towards  tho  (doso  of  18()G — has 
sineo  j^on(»  to  reeeivo  tho  r(>ward  of  a  lifo  glorious  to 
religion.  That  liishop  has  left  behind  him  a  noble  logaey 
lo  th(^  Ohnrch, — 1<)5  chnrelies,  including  one  of  tho  most 
l)(>aut  iful  cathedrals  now  in  tho  country ;  12(5  priests ;  4 
colleges  and  seminari(>s ;  1)  male  and  18  feraalo  institu- 
tions, to  which  are  attached  colleges  and  academies;  IG 
charitable  institutions,  1  being  hospitals,  and  12  asylums ; 
with  32  parocliial  schools.  And  hard  work  liad  Bishop 
Tinion  for  the  lirst  years  of  his  mission,  in  meeting  tho 
wants  of  a  fast  iniu-easing  lloclc,  and  rc^sisting  tho  evil 
spirit  of  ill-r(>gulated  'trusteeship.'  But  if  his  labour  was 
great,  so  is  its  result. 

AVhen  Bishop  England  terminated  his  apostolic  career, 
there  were  in  the  whole  of  his  diocese,  which  comprised 
the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  but 
8,000  Catholics ;  and  now  in  Charleston  alone  there  are 
12,000  Catholics,  8,000  of  whom  are  Irish-born,  or  tho 
descendants  of  Irish.  And  in  tho  city  of  Mobile,  which 
bounded  the  vast  diocese  of  that  great  prelate,  there  is 
now  a  Catholic  population  of  some  12,000,  mostly  Irish — 
a  thriving,  orderly,  prosperous  community — presided  over 
by  a  good  and  zealous  Irish  bishop. 

Talce  a  Northern  city,  Manche  ,i.er,  in  New  Hampshire ; 
and  we  shall  see  how  the  good  work  proceeds.  The  case 
of  Manchester  is  more  important,  as  we  may  contrast  the 
past — of  a  few  years  since — with  the  present.  The  existing 
Catholic  church  being  too  small  for  its  growing  Catholic 
congregation,  uonv  numbering  8,000,  a  similar  edifice  is  in 
the  course  of  erection.  Shortly  after  the  existing  churcli 
had  been  erected,  which  it  w-as  in  evil  days,  and  under 
circumstances  of  the  greatest  discouragement — in  fact,  of 
iusult  and  actual  outrage — a  baud  of  riotous  Know  Nothings 


3  labour  was 


THE  PAST  AND  TIIR  PRKSKNT.  ^si 

RflHoinhlo,!    on    flu,   FonH,],   of    July,    mul    (.on.ni<.,H.(..I    its 
doHtrucii.m.    TlH,y  Im.l  hu(..(.o<1.,1  in  a.siroyiu^  itn  wimlo.  s 
ot  .slain(.lj.],iss,  wlum  a  purly  c,f  Irish  CailmlicH  -allai.dy 
ci.countenHl  and  disixa-Noci  ilu,  nu,l),  and  Hav(,d  horn  invilu'v 
injury  the  chnrch  winch  had  CM.Ht  thcin  ho  ninch  Hacrilloo 
lo  tho  crodit  of   the  local  auUiorificH,  thoy  not  only  vx- 
j.roHSod  their  n^frn-t  at  tho  outrage,  but  oilcrod,  aH  a  (.,ni- 
l)(>nsation,    to   repair   all    danuiges.      ThiH    tins    ]lev     Mr 
McDonald  de(;lin(ul  on  behalf  of  his  Work,  sinijily  rc(.uivM„^ 
protcK.tion   from  •  future    violence.      The    utttmipt    „n    tho 
chun.h  was  not  the  only  one  made  against  the  Ciitholics 
m  Manchester.     The  Convent  of  Menry,  which  is  adjacent 
to  the   church,    was   n(,ar  being  destroyed  by  iire  at  tho 
hands   of   a  fanatical  worknnin    who   was  (engaged   in  its 
erection.     Ko  remained  ono  evening  aftcsr  the^'other  work- 
men had  left,  and  deliberately  set  fire  to  son)(,  shavings 
that  ho  brought  with  him  to  the  cupola  for  Lis  nefarious 
purpose.     Fortunat(!ly,  no  sooner  had  the  flames   broken 
out  than  they  were  discovered,  and  the  fire  was  extinguished 
before  any  serious  injury  was  done.     But  since  then  both 
church  and  convent  have  remained  unmolested,  and  there 
are  few  cities  in  which  religious  and  clergy  are  now  more 
respected  than  in   Manchester.     Since  the  arrival  of  the 
Sisters,   in   1858,   there   have   been   over  250  converts  in- 
structed by  them  in  the  faith,  and  mostly  from  the  wealthier 
class  of  society.     In  the  free  schools  under  the  charge  of 
the  Sisters,  there  are  more  than  800  children,  all  of  whom 
are  either  Irish-born,  or  of  Irish  extraction.     Besides  the 
free  schools,  there  are  also,  under  the  same  management, 
two  pay  schools,  and  a  select  boarding  school. 

Twenty-five  years  since,  a  room  of  very  moderate  size 
contained  all  the  CathoHcs  that  assembled  to  worship  God 
in  the  city  of  Newark.  In  this  temporary  chapel  the 
women  alone  were  accommodated  with  seats,  which  were 
formed  of  rude  planks  laid  across  empty  boxes.  "What  a 
change  in   18G6!      A   cathedral,   with  other    churches     a 


632 


TlIK  IRISH  IN  AMIililCA. 


'•ismM 


n 

■m 


.3 


«m 


< 


clmicli  of  f^nmd  proporlioiiH  in  (!c)ntt'ni[)l!itit)n,  Rovorul 
vulnaMn  iii.slituiioiiH,  an  ('iTK'iimi  stall'  ol'  pi-icstH,  and 
l.'{,5()()  ('oniinmiicantH  at  (Mirisliiias!* 

Tiioii,  if  wo  invn  onr  >^\mu-o  AVosiwanl,  and  rest  it  for  a 
inoinciit  on  that  if  '  marv(!ll(»ns  of  all  iiiodcrii  ritids 
Clii(!a<j;o — ^wliat  do  wo  kims?  A  fow  y(3ars  a^'o  and  (Miica^o 
was  not  heard  of ;  it  had  no  cxiHUincc.  Sinco  then  it  Inis 
riHon  literally  from  tlie  Hwainp,  a  city  of  niajj^ical  fjfrowth, 
yot  of  full  nialiirity,  perhaps  the  iii(>^i  extraordinary  in- 
staiu'o  of  the  eiier^^y  of  a  people  which  tlio  world  has  ev(!r 
seen.  But  yesterday  a  si)rinldin'jf  of  shanties  on  the  ilat 
shore  of  Lake  jMichij,'an  ;  to-day  one  of  the  most  famous 
centres  of  industry  in  the  States,  and  known  on  every 
public  chan{^»'e  in  Kurope.  In  this  nuirvellouH  City  of  tlu* 
West,  in  which  pro^^ress  assmnos  dimensions  almost  gi^'^antic; 
— with  its  grain  elevators  (;ai)al)le  of  storing  twelve  million 
Inishels  of  grain,  and  loading  the  largest  shi])  in  little  moni 
than  an  hour-    its  abattoirs,  that  each  slaughter  from  1,01)0 


*  III  tho  followinf:.  from  a  SistiT  of  Morcy  in  Litllo  Koclt,  wrifiriK  to  a  lady 
fWoiid,  to  whom  1  am  imlolituil  for  tlio  letter,  wo  have  a  gliiiipsc!  of  the  pro^'resn 
of  the  eliureli  in  Arliaiisas  :  — 

'We  eimut  here  from  ''olil  Krin "  in  IH.')!,  at  the  earnest  8olieitatio!i  and  iic- 
compaiiied  l)y  our  late  lamented  lUshoi)  and  Fatlier,  Hi'^ht  Itev.  A.  li\rne,  and 
lound  an  ample  field  for  our  exertions,  his  z<'alciiis  efforts  not  havin;.;  yielded 
a  dne  return,  for  ilu*  want  of  sulliiieni  labourers  in  (tie  vineyard.  I  he  name  i.t 
Catholie,  and  still  more  (lie  praetiee,  was  scarcely  iinderslood  by  the  majority 
of  the  people.  .\  priest  was  a  person  on  whom  every  eye  rested  for  eeiisiuN', 
niul  a  reli^;ious  cominnnit)  a  retreat  for  ii<i:i!i'S.  or  soniethiiif,'  worse.  Mich  wa.s 
the  sail  vision  that  met  our  view  upon  our  first  enfram'c  into  tlii-  ii;stiint  eounirv 
of  our  adoption,  so  thai  we  fre(iuentiy  needed  to  cast  a  j^laiieo  iicaveinvard,  iii 
order  to  rous(<  our  siidunj;  spirits  aloii;,'  the  weary  road. 

'It  has  pleased  Almif,'hty  do  \  to  bless  (Uir  etforts  with  miicli  sueeess.  For 
months  after  our  arrival  we  liad  but  lhir<'  Cathoiie  child  i  a  to  instruct  in  :\\(\ 
faith  ;  now  we  have  an  immense  numlier,  many  of  whom  Mre  the  eonsecraicd 
children  of  Mary.  For  many  weeks  past  we  have  been  busily  en^afjed  pri'- 
parin;^  a<liilts  for  Baptism,  most  of  whom  ;n-e  ladies  of  the  tirst  rank  and  fortune 
I  i^lit  received  liaptism  since  Faster.  So  that  we  have  threat  reason  to  rejuicc 
in  havin;-;  been  chosen  as  liumble  inslrnments  in  the  h:mds  of  Clod  in  tiic 
promotimi  of  Ills  fjlory  in  this  vast  and  scattered  diocese. 

'Our  present  lUshop,  Kij,'ht  Kev.  Fdward  l-'it/.^ierald  is  an  Irishman  by  birlli, 
but  an  American  by  education,  youthful  in  years  but  mature  in  virtue  His 
advent  amongst  ns  was  a  source  of  uiispeakalile  happine.s.--  to  ns  all.  Our  priests 
are  all  Irish  tco   and  both  ^ood  and  zealous. 

•  Of  the  Irish  laity,  few  of  them  were  above  a  very  humble  f,'i"'<lc  of  life  ;  vet 
they  are  ;ill  ii  L  (tie  Itock,  in  comfortable  circiniistames,  and  in  the  onjoymciit 
of  snu^  little  hoiiiestead.s. 

' 'fher(>  ;ire  thi'ee  instiliite.-!  of  our  Oi'iler  in.  this  diocese. — at  Little  K"ck.  l'"rt 
r'liiitli.  and  Heieiia,  and  ii  aiibeiiiiu'  in  toial  thirtv-livo  members — all,  with  thres 
exceptions,  thorout'h  Irish,  body,  soul,  juind,  and  heart. 


THE  (JIlLMfCn  IN  CHICAGO  AND  NKW  YORK. 


633 


ion,    wu'cnil 
[)ri('.stH,    and 

iTst  it  for  ii 
crii  cilics 
Linl  (!hi('ii<^fo 
ilicn  it  liiiH 
ical  fjfrowth, 
ndiiiiiry  in- 
lid  has  ('V(!V 

on  tlio  Hat 
aost  t'anioiiH 
11  on  ovory 

City  of  tlio 
lost  f^'ifj^antii} 
nAyia  million 
11  little  Tuoro 

from  1,{)(){) 


vrifiiiK  to  II  ladj' 
of  tlic  progress 


icitutioii  luul  ac- 
.'.  A.  l\\  rue,  aiul 
t   liiiviiif.;   yiclilid 

I.        'I)l(*     llItlllH     (it 

liy  thu  niiijority 
ted  for  fcnsurc, 
voi'.Mi'.  Midi  was 
■  (distant  coiililry 

I  liuavt'nwanl,  in 

h   BiH'ccsH.      For 

instruct   in    iIk; 

till!    coiisriratcil 

ly   ••iif^aKi'<l    l>i't'- 

raiik  ami  loitiiiic 

cason    to   n',joi((i 

of    Ciod   ill   tliL- 

slinian  hy  liirlli, 
ill  virtue  His 
all.     Our  iiricsts 

rade  of  life  ;   yet 

II  tlu'  eiijoyiiuiit 

Littlo  !?■  ck.  Y'n-t 
I— all,  with  thre« 


to  2,000  liofjfH  in  a   tsinj^^lo   day—ilH   ntit  work  of  railwayH 
couiioain^^  it  with  cvoiy  State  in   the;  Union     its  tunnel 
ninnin^r  isvo  milcH  into  tlu!  lak((,  to  Kiipply  pure  water  for 
its  inhal)itantH~its  nmehinery  for  lit'tin;,'  wholtj  hloek.s  of 
hoiiseH,  and  l)uildin<j^  additional  storieH  under  thorn  without 
int(U'ferinf,'  with  tin)  biiwineHH  or  tho  comfort  of  n  tenant  !— 
in    this  niarvcillous  Chica<,'o,  Ihe  very  emhodinuiiit  of  tho 
Nl)irit  of  ^'o-aheadism,  tho  Catholie  Church  ih  not  a  whit 
behind   hand.     It   Htrives,    and   with   eh(!(!rin{^^   sueeess,   to 
keep  paee  with  a  progress  ahnost  without  exainph;  in  the 
world.     In  tho  city  there  aro  about  20  Catholic  ehniche,s, 
for  a  (Catholic  population  of  (JO.OOO,   of  whom  .10,000  aro 
Irish;    and  other  chiirehos,  ineladin;L,'  ono  of  considerable 
grandeur,    aro   cither   in   ('ourHo  of  crfietion   or   in   active 
ctmtemplation.     It  has  oven  nc  r  12,000  Catholic  childn^n, 
of  all   classes   and    (conditions   of  life,   receivin<^'   a  sound 
(Jathohc  toachin<:f  in  academies  and  i)ar(K;hi;il  school  ;,     And, 
a  not  less  sif,qiificant  indictition  of  prof^ress,  it  is  receivino- 
daily   within    its   fold    converts    of    tho    (jducatcMl   classes 
of  society.     In  one  church,  in  the  year  IHOO,  tiie  Jiishop— 
a  most  accomplished  ^^(;ntleman  and  ze.alous  ecclesiastic- 
administered   Contirniiition   to   500   i)crsf)ns  ;   jind  of  that 
number  over  100  were  converts,  principally  from  the  middle 
and  upper  classes.     I  mot  more  than  ono  of  those  converts  ; 
and   for   intellinrence,    information,    and    quiet    dio-nity  of' 
manner,  I  have  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  their  supciiors.     Tho 
building  of  clmr(;hcs  and  schools  is  a  visible  ;tnd  tangible 
evidfinco  of  progress,  and  there  is  abundant  evidence  of 
this  kind    in    Chicago;    but    conversit^ns,    and    from    tho 
educated  and  en  lightened  portion  of  the  community,   aro 
evidences  more  important  and  more  conclusive.     Even  in 
Chicago,  tho  centre  of  unceasing  movement  and  constant 
('hange,  the  majestic  conservatism  of  tho  Catholic  Church, 
its  tranquil   serenity  in  the    hour    of  civil   strife,  its   un- 
broken unity  in  the  midst  of  dissension  and  disorder— is 
a    subject    of    wonder   and    admiration:    and    thoughtful 


I 


031 


THE  lUrSH  IN  AMERICA. 


enrnost  inon   rarihot  iivoitl   lu'ljokliiif,'   in   it  uii  additional 
proof  of  its  divine  nu's.sion. 

Happily  for    the   intcrostH   of  rc^li-^aon,   Jmppily   for   tlie 
welfiuo  of  its  onornious  Irish  i)opulaiit)n,  Now  York  i.s  not 
dovoting  all  its  om;r{,nt!H  to  tlio  construction  of  a  cidhoilral 
Avhi(!li  will  cost  throo  niilHons  of  dollars,  and  will  bo  tho 
prido  and  glory  of  the  Irish  Catholic  hoart.*     ^Mio  Ai'ch- 
bishop,  ono  of  the  ablest  of  tho  Prolatos  of  tho  Amoricau 
Church,  is  fully  alivo  to  tho  iiecossity  of  providing  ample 
accommodation  as  woU  for  those  who  have  already  como,  as 
for  those  who  are  certain  to  come;  and  by  the  dose  of 
1808   tho  churches   of  tho   city   of    New  York   will  have 
reached  tho  number  of  forty.     But  'more,  more,  morol' 
is  the  cry  one  hears  on  ever;,  side ;  and  ore  tho  golden  cross 
Hashes  from  tho  loftiest  pinnacle  of  tho  Cathedral  of  St. 
Patrick,  uiRny  new  churches  will  have   gathered   in   new 
congregations,  additional  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  worsl uppers.     The  progress  of  tho  church  in  this  greatest 
of  American  cities  is  hopeful  and  cheering  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  in  no  city  are  institutions  of  all  kinds  more 
numerous  or  more  olKcient ;  but  the  necessity  for  fiulher 
efforts  is    perhaps  nure   pressing,  more    urgent,  and   tho 
field   for    tho    disi)lay    of  all   the    resources   of    zc  d   and 
liberality  wider   and  vaster,    than  in  any  city  within   tho 
circle  of  the  Union.     Though  there  is  uo  little  poverty  and 
distress  in  New  York,  there  is  also  a  rich  and  powerful 
Catholic  community;   and  though  great  things  have  been 
done,  and  are  every  day  in  progress,  still  the  CathoUcs  of 
New  York  are  well  aware  that  they  must  make,  and  con- 
tinue to  make  largo  sacrifices,  in  order  to  meet  a  state  of 
things   which,   while  exceptional   in  its   character,    is   tlio 
natural  and  inevitable  result  of  the  position  of  their  city— 

*  Tliis  magnificent  structure,  which  ia  being  constructed  of  white  marble,  will  h« 
one  of  the  Kriui.lr.st  churches  in  tho  world.  Its  diuienbions  are  these  :  I,eu"th, 
330  feet ;  breadth  of  body  of  church,  130  ;  of  transept,  172  ;  height  of  iuteWor', 
from  floor  to  crown  of  arched  ceiling,  110  ;  height  of  aisles.  64  ;  elevatioh  of  its 
two  towers  and  spires,  320  feet  each.    And  this  all  in  white  marble  ! 


ti  ndditional 

[)ily  for   tlio 
York  is  not 
a  cuthotlnil 
will  bo  tho 
The  Ai-ch- 
10  Aiuoricau 
idiiig  ainplo 
x\y  coino,  aH 
-ho  cloHo  of 
k   will  have 
uro,  iiioro  1 ' 
joldon  croHS 
tulral  of  St. 
l'(hI   in   now 
f  ihouHands 
:his  grcatost 
tho  highest 
kinds  nioro 
for  further 
it,  and  the 
f    zc  d   and 
within   the 
poverty  and 
id  powerful 
I  have  been 
catholics  of 
:e,  and  con- 
t  a  state  of 
iter,    is   tlio 
their  city— 

I  niiirblt',  will  lio 
tht'Mo  :  I,eu;,'tli, 
it,'ht  of  iutoi'ior, 

elovatio!i  of  its 

! 


CATIIOLICITV  IN  iJO.STON. 


536 


virtually  the  gate  throu^di  whi(;h  tho  advonturons  of  llw 
Old  "NVoi'ld  rea(!h  the  New.  And  so  long-  as  tju!  slieani  of 
Kurojx'an  eniiomtion  IIowh  into  and  through  New  Yorlr, 
HO  \oiiir  must  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  Church  inipoH(>  an' 
onerous  but  necessary  burden  on  tho  generosity  of  the 
faithful.  From  what  I  have  seen  of  the  pastors  and  the 
tlock,  I  have  no  fear  as  to  th<*  result. 

But   turn    to    Boston— Boston,    the   stronghold  of   the 
Puritan— Boston,   tho    nursing-mother   of    all    the   'isms' 
which  in  tho  past  proclaimed  hostility  to  the  strang(;r  and 
the  Catholie— Boston,  whieh  has  not  to  this  day  obirtcrulcd 
the  l)la(rkened  traces  of  the  lire  that,  amidst' tl»o  yells  of 
!in  infuriated  mob,  shot  up  its  fierce  blaze  to  the  lu>aveiia 
fi'om  tho  burning'  timbers  of   the  dwelling  in  which  lioly 
women  divided  their   lives  between   tin;  education  of  thci 
young  and  the  worship  of  the  Deity.-Boston,  whose  lead- 
ing citizens   informed  Arcldjishop  Carroll   that  had  they, 
some  time  before  his  visit,  met   a  Catholic   in  the  streciti 
they  would  have  crossed  to  the  other  side,  su(!h  was  their 
horror  of,  or  such  their  aversion  to,  one  of  that  detested 
creed.      In   this   same   Boston,    on   Sunday,    the    15th   of 
September    18G7,   Bishop   Williams,    attended    by   several 
other  Prelates,  and  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  multi- 
tude, laid  the  foundation  stone  of  a  Cathedral  which  will 
be  one  of    tlio  most  imposing'  structures  in  the  country. 
The  vastness  of  its  dimensions  fitly  ty pities  the  progress  of 
Catholicity  in  Massachusetts.      These  are  they,  at  least  tlio 
principal,  given  in  the  words  of  the  architect:    'The  ex- 
treme length,  from  the  front  of  the  larg-e  tower  to  the  rear 
of  the  large  chapel  in  East  Union  Park  Street,  is  864  fe(>t, 
while  the  distance  from  the  front  entrance  to  the  rear  of' 
tli(3  chancel  is  295  feet.     The  breadth  of  the  nave  and  aisles 
at  the  buttresses  is  1)8  feet,  the  transept  is  140  feet. 
The  ridge  of  the  nave  roof  will  be  118  feet  above  the  street, 
while  the  nave  ceiling  will  be  87  feet  high.'     And  at  an 
altitn.de  of  HOO  feet  tlie  great  tower  wiU  rise,  crowiied  with 


33G 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■  a  golden  cross.  Such  are  tlie  main  dimensions  of  the 
Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  in  whoso  adornment  the  best 
efforts  of  Christian  art  and  Cathohc  piety  will  be  enhsted 
and  employed. 

Archbishop  M'Closkey  addressed  the  assembled  multitude 
who  witnessed  the  ceremonial ;  and  his  words  are  at  once 
so  authoritative  and  so  descriptive,  as  well  of  the  progress 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Massachusetts  and  the  New 
England  States,  as  of  the  material  and  social  advance  of 
the  '  old  world  immigrants ' — who  in  these  States  are  prin- 
cipally Irish — that  an  extract  or  two  from  his  admirable 
di<^:course  may  fittingly  occupy  a  place  in  these  pages. 

Contrasting  the  past  with  the  present,  the  Archbishop 
says  :— 

•There  are  those  most  probably  now  witliiii  sound  of  iny  voice,  who 
can  ronieniber  when  there  Avas  but  one  Catholic  church  in  Boston,  cud 
when  that  sufficed,  or  had  to  suffice,  not  alone  for  this  city,  but  for  all 
New  England;  and  how  is  it  now?  Churches  and  institutions  multi- 
plied, and  daily  continuing  to  multiply,  on  every  side,  in  this  city, 
throughout  this  State,  in  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  cities  and  States  ot 
New  England ;  so  that,  at  this  day,  no  portion  of  our  country  is  en- 
riched with  them  in  greater  proportionate  numbers,  none  where  they 
have  grown  up  to  a  more  flourishing  condition,  none  where  finished 
with  more  artistic  skill,  or  presenting  monuments  of  more  architec- 
tural taste  and  beauty.' 

To  God's  blessing — not  overlooking  what  may  to  some 
appear  the  natural  and  obvious  reason,  namely,  'the  never 
ceasing  tide  of  immigration  that  has  been  and  still  con- 
tinues to  be  setting    towards  the  American   shores' the 

Archbishop  attributes  this  astonishing  progress.  He  ac- 
curately represents  the  anticipations  of  those,  and  they 
were  many,  who  held  that  the  Catholic  religion  would 
never  take  root  in  the  free  soil  of  America — that  it  would 
wither  and  shrivel  up  in  the  pure  atmosphere  of  New 
England  enlightenment. 

But  with  regard  to  the  Catholic   portion  of  these  immigrants,  must 
wo  not  bear  in  mind  that  their  religion  was  looked  ou  with  much  dls- 


ANTICIPATIONS  NOT  REALISED. 


537 


msions  of  the 
^meut  tlie  best 
ill  be  enlisted 

bled  multitude 
Is  are  at  once 
I  the  progress 
and  the  New 
al  advance  of 
bates  are  prin- 
liis  admirable 
e  Images. 
le  ArchbishoiD 

f  iny  voice,  who 
ill  in  Boston,  oiid 
i  city,  but  for  all 
istitiitions  mulli- 
ide,  in  ti)is  city, 
s  and  States  of 
ir  conntry  is  en- 
lone  wliere  they 
3  where  finishet] 
t'  more  arch' tec- 
may  to  some 
ly,  'the  never 
and  still  con- 
shores  ' — tho 
ress.  He  ac- 
3se,  and  they 
shgion  would 
-that  it  would 
)here  of  New 


inmigrants,  must 
i  with  much  Cth- 


favour,  by  some,  oven  with  bitter  prejudice  and  inveterate  dislike?  It 
was  held  and  rei)re3ented  to  be  a  reli,!,Mon  of  ijrnorance  and  siiperHtllion. 
lull  of  the  grossest  absurdities  and  palpable  errors.  The  prediction 
was  confidently  made  that  it  could  not  long  endure  when  once  brought 
lace  to  face  with  the  light  and  intelligence  of  this  free  country — that, 
at  best,  it  could  never  make  any  headway,  except  in  its  first  migratory 
character,  that  it  might  spread  along  the  surface,  but  could  never  take 
root  in  the  soil ;  that,  in  process  of  lime,  as  it  would  be  brought  more 
in  contact  with  the  teachings,  as  was  said,  of  a  purer  gospel,  it  would 
be  subjected  more  fully  to  the  action  of  our  republican  institutions,  it 
would  lose  its  hold  on  the  minds,  even  of  its  own  followers,  and  be 
forced  gradually  to  give  way  before  the  progress-ive  and  irresistible 
spirit  of  the  age;  and  if  this  would  not  be  true  of  the  old  world  immi- 
grants, it  would  be  found  so,  at  least,  of  their  descendants.  Their 
children,  possessing  here  the  advantages  of  better  education,  growing 
up  more  intelligent,  more  inquisitive,  more  independent,  partaking 
more  fully  of  American  life  and  character,  would  be  too  sensible  and 
too  shrewd  to  cling  to  such  an  unpopular  form  of  faith  ;  unsuited  to 
the  country  and  the  times,  that  would  bring  them  neither  worldly 
honour  nor  worldly  gain,,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would  stand  in  the  way 
of  their  temporal  interests,  would  hinder  them  from  rising  in  the 
social  scale — in  a  word,  would  confound  them  with  the  vulgar  and 
ignorant  horde  that  still  blindly  persisted  in  believing  Transubstantia- 
tion,  and  adhering  to  the  Pope  of  Rome. 

The  Archbishop  eloquently  describes  the  utter  falsifi- 
cation of  all  these  hopes  and  anticipations  : — 

Well,  Beloved  Brethren,  have  these  predictions  been  fulfilled? 
Certainly  there  is  nothing  here  that  would  lead  me  to  think  so ;  and, 
if  not  in  the  past  or  present,  I  see  less  sign  of  their  being  so  in  the 
future  Many,  perhaps  most  of  you,  are  from  a  I'oreign  land.  W(.'ll, 
do  you  love  the  old  laith  now  less  than  you  did  when  you  first  landed 
on  these  free  shores?  Is  it  less  dear  to  you  here,  in  this  home  of 
your  adoption,  than  it  was  on  your  native  soil  in  the  home  oi'  your 
childhood?  Do  you  cherish  it  less  warmly?  do  you  cling  to  it  less 
firmly?  would  you  die  for  it  less  freely?  I  think  that,  with  one 
accord,  you  will  ansAver  No.  So,  throughout  every  portion  of  this 
great  Republic,  which  you  love  as  ardently  as  do  its  own  sons,  for 
which  you  would  lay  down  your  lives  as  generously,  to  the  same 
question  your  ))rethren  would  give  the  sunii*  response — Xo  !  a  thou- 
sand times  No!  But  your  children,  how  lias  it  beeu  with  them? 
In  their  case,  assuredly,  the  test  has  been  a  severe,  and  more  dan« 
gerous,  because  a  more  insidious  one.     Owing  to  the  causes  at  which 


I 


•m 

1 

'm 


638 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


I  have  already  hinted,  uiid  to  oUut  inlliionccs  wliicli  I  need  not  novt 
eniiinti-ate,  many  indeed  liave  been   lost  to  tlie  household  of  the  failli 
—more  so  in  times  past  llian   in  the  present  -yet  nowhere,   I  v.-nhire 
to   allicm,    will   staunclier   or   lirmer,    or   more   consistent   Catliolics  he 
found  than  among  these  Amerieaa  nativt;  l)orn  ;   and  while'  they  thus 
cherish  their  holy  faith,  do  they  not,  at  the   same  time,   vie  in  Immhif/, 
in  iyitellujcnce,  in  spirited  enterprise,  in  patriotism  and  honest  worth,  with 
their  fellow  citizens   in  all  the  various  professions  and  other  pursnits  of 
life?     If  I  needed  proof  or  illnstration,  I  should  have-  only  to   point  (o 
many  who  aro  hero  now  before  me  or  at  my  side,  to  your  own  honoured 
Bishop   at   their   head.     IJut   why  do  I   say  this?    Not   surely  in   any 
boastful  or  invidious  snirit,— but  simply   to  show   tliat   prophecy  con- 
cerning us    has    fail'. (  —  that   our   holy    Caiholic    faith    can    take,   has 
taken,   root   in     ;-•     ;  ee  soil;   nowhere   indeed    does   it  seem   to   find 
another  more  c  .gonial— nowhere  does  it  spread  its  roots  more  widely 
or  sink   theni  more   deei»ly— nowhere   does   it  put   forth   more   rajjid 
growth,   or  flourish   with  more  health  and  vigour,  or  give  promise  of 
more  abundant  fruit,— and  tliis,  we  contend,  has  come  to  pass  only  by 
God's  blessing. 

Nor  was  the  Archbishop  without  referring  to  the  impor- 
tant acquisition  to  the  Churcli  whicli  every  day  records 

of  couv(>rts  of  thoughtful  and  searching  minds,  blameless 
lives,  and  good,  social  position,  who  liave  no  worldly 
object  to  gain,  and  who  perhnps  may  have  much  to  lose, 
by  embracing  a  faitli  against  which  the  passions  and 
prejudi(;es  of  the  world  are  as  yet  arrayed. 

AVhat  may  be  the  number  of  Catholics  in  the  United 
States,  is  a  question  of  much  interest,  resi)ccting  which 
there  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion — some  setting  it 
down  as  very  niuch  less  than  it  really  is,  others  estimating 
it  beyond  what  it  possibly  can  be.  There  is  little  difficulty 
in  i)roving  the  number  of  churches  or  ecclesiastics  to  be 
what  is  stated  ;  but  dealing  with  a  vast  proportion  of  the 
population,  the  computation  is  not  so  simple  a  matter. 
Avoiding  anything  like  an  extreme  estimate,  and  taking 
into  account  not  only  the  enormous  emigration  of  the  last 
half  century,  cliieHy  consisting  of  Catholics  from  Ireland 
and  the  continent  of  Europe  ;  considering  also  that  the 
Insh  element  is,  if  not  the  most,  certainly  one  of  the  most, 


[  need  not  nov? 
old  of  lli.>  fiiitli 
Ik-to,  I  vciiluru 
it  Ciitliolicrf  1)(> 
vliiln  tlu-y  thus 
vie  in  leami/Kj, 
lest  worth,  witJi 
her  pursnits  of 
Illy  to  point  to 
•  own  lionourt'd 
surely  in  any 
prophecy  con- 
can  take,  liuH 
t  seem  to  find 
ts  more  widely 
th  luore  rajiid 
ive  promise  of 
0  pass  only  by 

►  the  impor- 
ly  records — 
Is,  blameless 
i]o  worldly 
leh  to  lose, 
assioiis   iiiid 

the  United 
ctiiig  wliieli 
ne  setting  it 
!  esiiniating 
tie  difficulty 
istics  to  be 
•tion  of  the 
i  a  matter, 
and   taking 

of  the  last 
om  Ireland 
so  that  the 
f  the  most, 


NUMBER  OF  CATHOLICS  IN  THE  STATES. 


639 


fruitful  in  the  world  ;  an(i  not  forgetting  this  fact,  that  in 
several  parts  of  tlus  Union,  and  notably  in  the  New  England 
States,  the  annual  in(;rcase  of  the  population  is  entirely 
owing  to  the  foreign  element* — and  in  most  of  these 
KStates  the  foreign  element  is  fully  live-sixths  Irish  and 
Catholic — I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  those  who  regard 
from  nine  to  len  imlliom^  of  (laDioIlc^  as  a  fair  and  mode- 
rate estimate.  They  may  be  more,  but  it  is  not  j)ropablo 
that  there  are  less  than  {),()0(),0()0  ;  which  is  more  than 
one-fourth  of  the  entire  j^opulation  of  the  United  States. 


And  now,  what  more  need  be  said  of  the  progress  of  that 
Church  which  has  in  its  charge  the  spiritual  welfare  and 
moral  worth  of  the  Irish  in  America?  ,  j has  her  enemies, 
and  will  continue  to  have  them,  as  she  has  ever  had  ;  and 
these  have  be(ni  her  glory  rather  than  her  shame.  Sects 
will  assail  her,  and  even  parties  may  league  against  her  ; 
but  she  will  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  her  way,  licither 
looking  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  as  indifferent  to  threat 
as  io  seduction — preaching  peace  and  love  to  all  men — 
lifting  up  her  children,  by  her  holy  inlluenee,  to  a  truer 
appreciation  and  a  more  practical  fulfilment  of  their 
duties  as  Christians  and  as  citizens — teaching  them  to  love 
and  lionour  and  serve  the  great  country  in  which,  not- 
withstanding the  idle  rage  of  the  fanatic  and  the  folly  of 
the  shortsighted,  she  has  full  freedom  of  develojomcnt,  of 
active  and  noble  usefulness. 

For  this  glorious  Church  of  America  many  nations  have 
done  their  part.  The  sacred  seed  first  planted  by  the  hand 
of  the  chivalrous  Spaniard  has  been  M'atered  l)y  the  blood 
of  the  generous  Gaul  ;  to  the  infant  mission  the  English- 
man brought  his  steadfastness  and  his  resolution,  the 
Scotchman  his  quiet  firmness,  the  Frencnman  his  en- 
lightonnKuit,  tlie  Irishman,  fhe  ardour  of  his  faith  ;  and  as 
time  rolled  on,  and  wave  after  wave  of  emigration  brought 

*  For  some  iuteresting  iuformaUou  on  this  subject  the  reader  is  referred  iv<  the 
Appendix 


I 


fi'lO 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■a 


1 


'J 


with  it  more  and  more  of  the  precious  hfcvblood  of  Europe, 
from  no  country  was  there  a  richer  contribution  of  piety 
and  zeal,  of  devotion  and  self-sacrifice,  than  from  that 
advanced  out-post  of  the  Old  World,  whose  western  shores 
lirst  breast  the  fury  of  the  Atlantic ;  to  whose  people 
Providence  appears  to  have  assigned  a  destiny  grand  and 
heroic — of  carrying  the  civilisation  of  the  Cross  to  remote 
lands  and  distant  nations.  What  Ireland  has  done  for  the 
American  Clnirch  every  bishop,  every  priest  can  tell. 
Throughout  the  vast  extent  of  the  Union,  there  is  scarcely 
a  church,  a  college,  an  academy,  a  school,  a  religious  or 
charitable  institution,  an  asylum,  an  hospital,  or  a  refuge, 
in  which  the  piety,  the  learning,  the  zeal,  the  self-sa(!rilice 
of  the  Irish — of  the  priest  or  the  professor — of  the  Sisters 
of  every  Order  and  denomination — are  not  to  be  traced  ; 
there  is  scarcely  an  ecclesiastical  seminary  for  EngHsh- 
spealdng  students  in  which  the  great  majority  of  those 
now  preparing  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  do  not 
belong,  if  not  by  birth,  at  least  by  blood,  to  thiit  historic 
land  to  which  the  grateful  Ohurcli  of  past  ages  accorded 
the  proud  title— Insula  Sanctorum. 

A  writer  who  is  not  remarkable  for  enthusiasm,  and  who 
judges  with  wisdom  and  praises  with  reserve,  thus  describes 
to  what  extent  the  American  Church  is  indebted  for  its 
progress  to  the  Irish  population  of  the  United  States*  :— 

In  ivcordin<?  this  consoling  advancomont  of  Catholicity  throughout 
4be  United  States,  ei^pecially  in  the  North  and  West,  justice  requires 
us  to  state,  that  it  is  owing  in  a  groat  measure  to  the  faith,  zeal,  and 
generosity  of  the  Irish  people,  who  have  emigrated  to  these  shores, 
and  their  descendants.  We  are  far  from  wishing  to  detract  from  the 
merit  of  other  nationalities ;  but  the  vast  influence  which  the  Irish 
population  have  exerted  in  extending  the  domain  of  the  Church  is 
well  deserving  of  notice,  because  it  conveys  a  very  instructive  lesson. 
The  wonderful  history  of  the  Iri.sh  nation  has  always  forced  upon  us 
the  conviction,  that,  like  the  chosen  generation  of  Abraham,  they  were 

*  Sketch  of  tlio  Origin  .and  ProRross  of  t)io  Cutliolic  Chun-)!  in  tho  I'nitod 
States  uf  Ainoric.'i,  by  liev.  ('.  G.  WliiU".  ]>.!).,  given  us  an  Appendix  to 
I'arra's  Geuoral  History  of  tlio  Catholic  Church.  rnbh.s)iGd  by  1',  O'.^hea. 
i;;u'clay  Straet,  New  York. 


THE  PROTESTANT  AND  CATHOLIC  EMIGRANT. 


Ai 


[  of  Europe, 
ion  of  picity 
I  from  that 
stern  whores 
bose  people 
y  grand  and 
iS  to  remote 
done  for  the 
it  can  tell. 
1  is  scarcely 
religious  or 
or  a  refuge, 
self-sa(!rilico 
the  Sisters 
be  traced  ; 
br  English- 
ty  of  those 
lary  do  not 
thiit  historic 
OS  accorded 

im,  and  who 
us  describes 
bted  for  its 
States*  : — 

ity  tlirotigliout 
istico  requires 
[aith,  zeal,  and 
these  shores, 
ract  from  the 
hich  the  Irish 
the  Church  in 
rnctive  lesson, 
irced  upon  us 
lain,  tliey  wero 

I    in    tho  rnitod 

.n    Appi^iulix    to 

by    P.     U'f^hea. 


(lentinod  in  Uk-  denii^nH  of  Providence;  to  a  special  mission  for  Uw.  pre- 
servation and  propa^'ation  of  llu;  true  faith.  Tiiis  faith,  so  |)nre,  so 
lively,  so  ;j;en(!rous,  displays  its-dfin  every  region  of  the  glolic;.  'I'o  its 
vitality  and  energy  must  we  atUibute,  l'>  a  very  great  extent,  the 
rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  churclies  and  o.her  institutions  wiiich 
have  sprung  up  and  a.-e  sti'.l  sjjriiiging  up  in  the  United  States,  and  to 
tlie  same  source  are  thci  clergy  mainly  indebted  for  their  support  in 
the  exercise  of  tiieir  ])astoral  ministry.  It  cannoi  be  denied,  and  v  ) 
bear  a  cheerful  testimony  to  tho  fact,  that  hundreds  of  clergymen  who 
are  labouring  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  would  starve,  and  tlieir  efforl.i 
for  the  cause  of  religion  would  be  in  vain,  but  for  tho  generous  aid 
which  they  receive  from  the  cliildren  of  Erin,  who  know,  for  the  most 
part,  how  to  a])preciate  the  beiudits  of  religion,  and  who  thertdore 
joyfully  contvil)ut(^  of  their  worldly  means,  to  purchase  tho  spiritual 
blessings  which  the  Church  dispenses.* 

In  concluding  this  sketch  of  the  progress  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America,  I  may  refer  again,  though  in  a 
passing  manner,  to  the  alleged  loss  of  faith  on  the  part  of 
the  Irish.  The  reader  who  has  gone  through  the  foregoing 
pages  must  have  found  in  them  suffi(;ient  to  account, 
easily  and  rationally,  for  whatever  loss  of  faith  did  occur 
from  the  migration  of  a  people  without  priests,  flocks 
without  pastors;  while  he  laust  have  scon  no  liitlo  to 
admire  in  the  fidelity — the  miraculous  fidelity — with  v»"hicli 
the  same  people  kept  the  faith  laiC^  r  circumstances  the 
most  unfavourable,  and  in  the  face  of  discouragements 
of  the  most  formidable  nature. 

Let  it  be  distinctly  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Irish  Cath- 
olic had  everytL'.ig  against  him,  nothing  in  his  favour. 
With  the  Irish  Protestant,  of  whatever  denomination,  tho 
case  was  totally  different.     The  Irish  Protestant  practically 

*  Ono  out  of  a  thousand  instances  will  suflice  to  exhibit  tlie  zeal  and  {gene- 
rosity of  the  humbler  clashes  of  the  Irish  in  ATUorica.  A  Sister  of  >!(  rcy  thus 
tells  wluit  the  Irish  woriri.i.  people  have  done  for  tlic  Order  in  Cineiiinati  ; 
'The  Convent,  Sclioola,  ^-nd  .'Touse  of  Mercy,  in  which  the  t^ood  works  of  our 
Institute  are  protjressiug,  Tcre  purchased  in  1801,  at  a  considerable,  outlay. 
This,  together  with  tlio  repairs,  alterations,  furnishing,  &c.,  were  tief/ayed  hi/  the 
vnrking  vlasf  rf  Irish  people,  who  have  been  and  ai'o  to  us  mot-t  devoted,  and  by 
tlveir  generosity  havo  enabled  us,  up  to  the  present  time,  to  carry  out  successfully 
our  works  of  mercy  and  charity.' 


642 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


0^ 

''S3 


.   -A 


■:« 
Jl 

an 

1 

4« 


< 


knew  nothing  of  the  diHicnlties  by  which  the  Irish  Catholic 
wa3  surromuled,  nothing  of  the  triiils  nnd  temptations  to 
which  the  CathoHc  and  the  family  of  the  Catholic  wore 
subjected    or    exposed.     Wlierever    the    Irish    Protestant 
turned   his  face,   there   he  found   a   congregation    and   a 
church,  nay  even  the  people  and  the  very  atmosphere  to 
suit  him.     If  he   had  not,  convenient   to  his   dwelHng,   a 
church  or  a  congregation  of  his  immediate  denomination, 
there  was  some  kindred  church  which  opened  its  doors  to 
welcome  him,  some  sect  to  sympathise  with  his  behef,  and 
receive  him  in  the  spirit  of  religious  fraternity.     Not  so 
with  the  Catholic.     The  multitude  of  denominations  was 
to  him  of  httle  avail.     ThoV(3  was  no  friendly  sect  or  kin- 
dred communion  to  receive  or  sympathise  with  him.     He 
had  to  stand  alone  and  aloof,  for  with  none  could  he  amal- 
gamate, or,  as  Piotestant  sects  might,  fuse  down  in  one 
grand   accord   every  >.„anor   difference.     Thus,    alone   and 
aloof,  the  Irish  Catholic,  without  church  or  pastor,  had  to 
keep  the  faith  ahve  in  his   own  breast,  and  foster  it   by 
every  parental  inliuonce   in  the  breasts  of  his   children  ; 
who  were  exposed  to  the  perilous  seductions  of  associatioJ 
with  tho.o  young  as  themselves,  but  who,  unlike  them,  had 
a  church,  a  pastor,  or  a  congregation.     The  wonder  is,  not 
that  some  lost  the  faith ;  but  the  miracle  is,  that  it  was  so 
amazingly  preserved. 

Any  speculation  as  to  the  number  of  those  who  lost  the 
faith  would  be  as  idle  as  profitless.  It  would  require  the 
labour  of  one  of  our  Royal  CommissioDS,  powers  well  nigh 
inquisitorial,  and  a  dozen  years  spent  in  journeying  to  and 
fro,  to  arrive  at  anything  like  an  approach  to  the  real 
number  of  those  who  yielded  to  the  force  of  circumstances, 
and  of  those  who  resisted  their  influences.  The  belief  of' 
every  thoughtful  Catholic  in  the  United  States  with  whoin 
I  conversed  on  this  subject  is,  that  the  loss  has  been 
monstrously  exaggerated,  the  statements  to  that  eit'oct 
partaking  more  of  the  nature  of  an  oratorical  flourish  than 


LOSS  OF  FAITH  AND  INDIFFERENl  ISM. 


543 


isli  Catholic 
iptatioiis  to 
itliolic  were 

Protostant 
tioii  and  a 
no8i)liorc  to 
dwelling,  a 
nomination, 
ts  doors  to 
I  belief,  and 
tj.  Not  so 
lations  was 
ect  or  kin- 
1  him.  Ho 
Id  he  amal- 
•wn  in  one 

alone  and 
^tor,  had  to 
jster  it  by 
1  children  ; 
association 
!  them,  had 
ider  is,  not 
t  it  was  so 

io  lost  the 
•equire  the 
3  well  nigh 
ing  to  and 
;o  the  real 
umstances, 
6  belief  of 
with  whoin 
has  been 
that  eil'oct 
)urisli  than 


of  the  remotest  approach  to  statistical  accuracy — resting 
upon  nothing  more  solid  than  a  paragraph  in  a  well-meant 
letter  of  warning,  or  a  full-swelling  passage  in  a  terror- 
striking  discourse.  The  motive  in  which  these  statements 
had  tlieir  origin  was  good,  but  the  language  has  been  sadly 
reckless.  From  individual  localities,  or  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances, results  sweeping  and  general  have  been  de- 
duced. AVhatever  the  loss— and  it  is  altogether  a  thing 
of  the  past  rather  than  of  the  present — there  can  be  no 
delusion  more  monstrous,  or  indeed  more  unjust  to  a  peo- 
ple or  a  Church,  than  that  the  Irish  become,  if  not  actual 
infidels,  at  least  indifferent,  the  moment  they  land  in 
America.  Now  were  not  the  character  of  the  Irish — the 
most  retentive  and  tenacious  of  all  races  of  the  world — a 
sufficient  answer  to  this  absurdity,  the  proof  to  the  contrary 
is  the  present  position  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  America. 
On  this  head  nothing  need  be  added  to  the  force  and 
authority  of  the  passage  I  have  just  quoted  from  a  writer 
so  careful  and  cautious  as  Dr.  White. 

Neither  is  it  true  that  indiffercntism,  though  the  all- 
pervading  religious  disease  of  America,  is  one  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  Catholicity  in  that  country.  The  magnitude 
of  the  work  done,  of  the  vast  and  splendid  things  ac- 
complished, is  altogether  inconsistent  with  indiffercntism. 
There  is  as  much  active  zeal,  as  eniln^.siastic  fervour,  as 
profound  i)iety,  in  America  as  even  in  Ireland;  and  in 
many  places  the  organisation  for  all  church  purposes  and 
every  spiritual  object  is  more  complete  than  it  is  in  the 
old  country.  The  ceremonies  are  conducted  with  solemnity 
and  dignity,  and  the  congregations  are  collected  and  devo- 
tional in  air  and  manner ;  and  whenever  the  Chnrch  makes 
a  special  appeal  to  the  piety  of  her  children,  the  religious 
enthusiasm  is  fervent  and  intense.  There  is  one,  and  that 
a  marked  dift'eronce  between  congregations  in  Citholic 
churches  in  America  and  in  Ireland  or  England ;  and  the 
difference  is  too  honouring  to  the  American  character  to 


^.jBHAR 


644 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•;« 
J 


.9 

'5 

nil 

3 


bo  overlooked.  In  America  tlicro  is  most  frequently  in 
Catholic  clinrcbcs  a  conHiderablo  proportion  of  Protestants 
— who  do  not  either  idly  {,'apo  about,  or  exhibit  weari- 
ness or  impatience ;  but  Avho  liKten  gravely,  and  conduct 
themselves  Avith  scrupulous  decorum.  I  have  been  in 
many  of  the  Cathohc  churches  of  America,  and  I  never 
witnessed  on  the  part  of  Protestants  anything  which  was 
not  respectful  to  the  place  and  creditable  to  them. 

Now,  at  any  rate,  there  is  no  fear  of  loss.  The  day  for 
that  is  gone.  Wherever  the  axe  of  the  pioneer  clears  the 
path  in  the  forest,  or  the  plough  of  the  settler  turns  up 
the  virgin  soil  of  the  prairie,  the  Church  soon  follows  and 
erects  the  Cross  ;  and  no  sooner  does  the  village  begin  to 
assume  the  outlines  of  the  city  than  the  Religious  Orders, 
those  noble  standard-bearers  and  soldiers  of  the  Faith, 
push  on  to  protect  and  defend  the  rising  youth  of  the  race 
and  religion  of  Catholic  Ireland.  The  losses  of  the  past 
.are  to  be  dejjlored,  though  they  have  been  exaggerated ; 
but  the  America  of  the  past  is  not  the  America  of  to-day. 


frequently  in 
f  Protcstiints 
xliibit  wcari- 

and  ccnicluct 
avo    boon   in 

and  I  never 
ig  which  was 
cm. 

The  clay  for 
er  clears  the 
Icr  turns  up 
I  follows  and 
igo  begin  to 
ious  Orders, 
f  the  Faith, 
1  of  the  race 

of  the  past 
exaggerated  j 

of  to-day. 


CHAPTEE  XXX. 

Tho  Irish  in  the  Win"— Irish  faithl'iil  to  eilhor  Side  Thomas 
Francis  Moaphor — Wiiy  tlio  Irish  joinod  distinct  Orifanisations 
—Irish  Chivalry— Mori!  Irish  Cliivalry— Tho  ii-ligious  IiitliKitico 
— Not  kiiowinji^  wliat  ho  prcacliod  on — Ch'anlinoss  of  th(;  Irish 
Soldier— Uospcct  for  tho  Laws  of  War —A  Non-coinbatant  do- 
f(Miding  his  Castlo— Dofondod  with  Briuivbats  — •  Noblosso  Ob- 
lipre'-lpat's  Littlo  (Jamo— Irish  Dovot<'(..iess— Tiio  Lovo  of 
Fif,'ht— Tostlinonics  to  tli(!  Irish  Soldier -Tho  Handsomest 
Thing  of  tho  War— ratrlck  Uoiiayno  Clebnrno— General  CAe- 
biirne  and  his  Opinions— In  Meniorlam — After  the  Wai'^ — Tho 
grandest  of  all  Spectacles. 

FROM  the  very  circumstances  of  their  position,  it  wag 
almost  a  matter  of  inevitable  necessity  that  the  Irish 
citizens  of  America  should  ally  themselves  with  that 
political  party  which,  with  respect  to  the  foreigner  and  tho 
stranger,  adopted  the  liberal  and  enlightened  policy  of 
Jefferson  and  Madison.  The  Irish,  then,  being  Demo- 
crats, naturally  sympathised  with  tho  prevailing  sentiment 
of  the  Southern  States,  which  was  strongly  Democratic. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  this  sympathy,  th(3  result  of  a 
general  concurrence  of  opinion  with  that  of  the  South,  the 
Irish  of  the  Northern  States  not  merely  remained  faithful  to 
the  flag  of  the  Union,  but  were  amongst  the  foremost  and 
the  most  enthusiastic  of  those  who  rallied  in  its  defence, 
and  the  most  steadfast  in  their  support  of  the  Federal 
cause,  from  tho  moment  that  the  first  gun,  fired  in  Charles- 
ton Harbor,  echoed  through  the  land,  to  the  hour  when 
Lee  surrendered,  and  the  war  was  at  an  end.  "Whatever 
their  opinions  or  feelings  as  to  the  conduct  of  those  who, 
justly  or  unjustly,  were  held  responsible  for  bringing  about 
or  precipitating  the  contest,  and  deeply  as  they  felt  the 
injury  which  war  was  certain  to  inflict  on  the  country  of 
their  adoption,  the  Irish-born  citizens  never  wavered  in 
their  duty.      None   more  bitt<u-ly  deplored  than  they  did 


I 


6i6 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Sf^ 


3 


tlio  sad  consoquencos  of  civil  strife -a  conflict  whioli  would 
biiiin.  into  (loiidly  coLli.sion  idndroa  racf.s  even  of  tlieir  own 
people;  but  onco  the  rupture  was  irrevocable,  they  calm i- 
accepted  their  position.      From  the  first  nioment   to   the 
last,  they  were  animated  by  a  high  sense  of  duty,  and  an 
earnest  feeling  of  patriotisu'      Fortunately  for  the  honour 
and  fame  of  the  Irish,  there  was  iii  their  motives  an  utter 
absence  of  the  baneful  i)assions  of  hatred  and  r(  venge  or 
the   least   desire   to  crush   or   liumilialo   their  opi)onents. 
\\'ar  with  all  its  tremendous  consequences  tfiey  laced  as  a 
stern  and  terrible  necessity ;  but  they  entered  into  it  ^v•ith 
a  chivalrous    and   Christian   spirit,  which    never   deserted 
them  throughout  the  prolonged  struggle.     Tluy  did   not 
stop  to  argue  or  split  hairs  as  to  the  constitutional  rin-lits 
alleged  to  be  involved ;  they  acted,  as  they  felt,  with^thc 
community  amid  whom  they  lived,  and  with  whom  their 
fortunes  were   identified.      The   feeling  was  the   same   at 
both  sides  of  the  hne.     The  Irish  in  the  South  stood  with 
the  State  to  which,  as  they  believed,  they  owed  their  first 
allegiance,  and,  as  was  the  case  in  the  North,  they  caught 
the  spirit  of   the  community  of   whom  they  formed  part. 
They  also  were  profouncUy  grieved  at  the  necessity  for  war 
and  would  have   gladly  avoided  the  calamity  of  an  open 
rupture.     Southern  Irishmen  have  told  me  that  they  shed 
tears  of  bitter  anguish  when,  in  vindication  of  wliat  they 
held  to  be  the  outraged  independence  of  their  State,  whicli 
to  them  was  the  immediate  homo  of  their  adoption  they 
first  fired  on  thr  flag  of  that  glorious  country  which  had 
been  an  asylum  to  millions  of  their  people.      The  Northern 
Irishman  went  into  the  war  for  the    preservation  of  the 
Union—the   Southern    Irishman  for   the   independence  of 
his  State.     And  each,  in  his  own  mind,  was  as  thoroughly 
justified,  both  as  to  right  and  duty,  principle  and  patriotism 
as  the  other.     With  the  political  or  constitutional  questioi' 
involved  at  either  side  I  have  no  busint  ss  whate  ver ;  and 
wore  I  competent  to  disentangle   it  from   the  maze  into 


IRI!^n  FAITHFUL  TO  EITHER  SIDE. 


047 


whioli  would 
of  their  own 
,  tliey  calmly 
ueiit  H)  tho 
luty,  and  an 

the  liouour 
vos  an  utter 

rovenj^c,  or 

oii])onnnts. 
;y  faced  as  a 

into  it  with 
er  deserted 
ley  did  not 
ional  riglits 
It,  with  the 
whom  their 
10   same   at 

stood  with 
[  their  first 
:hey  caught 
rmed  part, 
ity  for  war, 
)f  an  open 
t  they  shed 

what  they 
tate,  which 
2)tion,  they 
which  had 
0  Northern 
ion  of  tho 
sndcnce  of 
thoroii.rhly 
jiatriotisni, 
al  questioi. 
tever;  and 
maze  into 


whidi  confluiting  opinions  jind  subtle  diwquiHitions  have 
brought  ill  hould  still,  from  a  feeling  of  dehcacy,  decline 
dealing  wi-i  a  subject  which  may  not,  as  yet,  be  freely 
handler  without  exciting  anger  and  irritation.  T  have 
heard  iii  ■  uidisguised  sentiments  of  Irishmen  at  l)oth 
sides  of  Liie  line — ovi:ry  nnin  of  them  loving  America  with 
a  feeling  of  profound  attaduiu  ut ;  and  I,  who  stand,  as  it 
were,  on  neutral  ground,  have  as  full  faith  in  the  patriotism 
and  purity  of  motive  of  the  Northern  as  the  Southern,  tho 
Confederate  as  the       deral. 

In  their  zeal  for  the  cause  which  Irishmen  on  each  side 
nuitually   and  of   necessity  esjioused,  they  did  not   at   all 
times,   perhaps   could  not,   make   due    alhnvancci    for   the 
feelings  and  convictions  of  their  countrymen  wlio  fought 
under  or  posing  banners,  or  fairly  consider  the  position  in 
which  they  were  placed,  and  the  influences  by  \vhieh  they 
were   suri'ounded.      Thus,    while   the   Northern   Tiishman 
could  not  comprehend  how  it  was  that  the  Southern  Irish- 
man,  though   sympathising  with    every   passionate   throb 
of  the   community   in  which   he   Hved,    and  whose   every 
feeling  or  prejudice  he  thoroughly  shared,  could  possibly 
take  up  arms  against  the  Union — against  the  Stars  and 
Stripes — that    'terror   of    tyrants    and   hope    of    the    op- 
pressed ; '  in  the  same  way,  the  Southern  Irishman  covdd 
not  reconcile  it  to  his  notions  of  consistency,  that  the  very 
men  who  sought  to  liberate  their  native  land  from  British 
thraldom  should  join   with   those  who   were   doing  their 
utmost  to  subjugate  and  trami^le  under  foot  the  liberties 
of  a  people  fighting  for  their  independence.     But,  were  the 
struggle  to  be  fought   over  agrdn,  bc-tli — Irishmen  of  the 
North  and  Irishmen  of  the  South — would  fall  inevitably 
into  the  same  ranks,  and  fight  under  the  same  banner  ;  !ind 
though  each  could  not,  at  least  for  a  time,  do  justice  to  the 
motives  of  the  other,  every  dispassionate  observer,  who  took 
their  mutual  positions  into   account,  should  do  so.      An 
American  general,  one  of  the  most  thoughtful  and  intelligent 


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PhotograpJiic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

(716)  872-4503 


A-V: 


518 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


men  whom  I  have  ever  met,  remarked  to  me  one  day  :— 

*  Nothing  during  the  war  was  more  admirable  than  the 
'fidehty  of  your  countrymen,  at  both  sides,  to  ihe  State 
'  m  which  they  hvcd.     North  or  South,  they  wel'e  equally 

*  devoted,  equally  faithful,  sharing  in  every  emotion  of  the 
'community  of  which  they  formed  part.  I  know  that 
'some  of  your  countrymen  at  our  side  could  not  make 
'  allowance  for  those  on  the  other  side,  and  in  fact  would 
I  hear  nothing  said  in  their  defence;    but  I  always  held 

*  the  conviction  that  not  only  could  they  not  have  done 
'otherwise,    consistently  with    their   duty,   but    that    the 

*  manner  in  which  they  did  it  redounds  to  their  lasting 

*  honour.     The  var  has  tried  the  Irish,  and  they  stood  the 

*  test  well,  as  good  citizens  and  gallant  soldiers.  This  has 
'  been  my  opinion  from  the  first ;  and  it  is  the  same  now, 

*  that  the  ;war  is  happily  at  an  end.' 

Perhaps  to  no  other  man  of  Irish  bjood  was  the  Federal 
government  more  indebted  than  to  that  gifted  and  gallant 
Irishman  over  whom,  in  the  mystery  and  darkness  of  the 
night,  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Missouri  rolled  in  death- 
Thomas  Francis  Meagher.  Passionately  attached  to  the 
land  which  for  so  many  years  had  been  the  asylum  and 
the  hope  of  millions  of  the  Irish  people,  he  infused  into 
his  brilliant  oratory  all  the  ardour  of  his  soul,  and  the 
strong  fidelity  of  his  heart.  The  Union  was  the  object  of 
his  veneration  ;  its  flag  the  emblem  of  its  greatness  and 
its  glory.  Meagher  '  of  the  Sword '  was  in  his  element 
at  last ;  and  as  his  fiery  words  rang  tlu^ough  the  land,  they 
roused  the  enthusiasm  of  a  race  wdiose  instincts  are  essen- 
tially wvarlike,  and  whose  fondest  aspirations  are  for  mili^ 
tary  renown.  Animated  no  less  by  a  sense  of  their  duties 
as  citizens,  than  thrilled  by  accents  that  stimulated  their 
national  pride,  the  very  flower  of  the  Irish  youth  of  the 
Northern  States  rallied  under  the  flag  of  the  Union. 

Writers    foi     and    in    certain    journals   of    the    United 
Kingdom    frequently  impugned    the    character    and    the 


THOMAS  FRANCIS  MEAGHER. 


549 


one  (lay  : — 
)le  than  the 
to  tlie  State 
vvel-e  equally 
otion  of  the 

know  that 
i  not  make 
1  fact  would 
always  held 
b  have  done 
it  that  the 
heir  lasting 
}y  stood  the 
!.     This  has 

same  now, 

the  Federal 
and  gallant 
mess  of  the 
in  death — 
3hed  to  the 
asylum  and 
nfused  into 
il,  and  the 
^e  object  of 
3atness  and 
lis  element 
3  land,  they 
1  are  essen- 
ce for  mili- 
their  duties 
ilated  their 
)uth  of  the 
ion. 

;he    United 
L*    and    the 


motives  of  the  Irish  who  joined  the  Federal  army  during 
the  war  ;  and  *  mercenary '  and  '  rowdy '  and  '  rough,'  havu 
been  the  terms  too  freely  employed  to  express  dishke  of 
those  who  formed  so  powerful  an  element  of  the  strcngtli 
and  valour  of  the  Northern  army.  But  never  was  slander 
more  malignant,  or  description  more  entirely  inapt.  Hero, 
in  the  words  of  Thomas  Francis  Meagher,  traced  but  a 
few  months  before  his  lamentable  death,  is  the  simple 
explanation  of  the  motives  and  vindication  of  the  cha- 
racter of  the  men  who  took  up  arms  for  a  principle,  and 
who  fought  with  the  valour  and  the  chivalry  of  true 
soldiers.  From  a  letter  dated  the  4th  of  March,  1867, 
from  Virginia  City,  IMontana,  I  take  this  sentence  :  '  A 
'chivalrous — and  I  may  with  perfect  truth  assert  a  re- 
'hgious — sense  of  duty,  and  spirit  of  fidelity  to  the 
Government  and  Flag  of  the  naiion  of  which  they  were 
'  citizens,  alone  inspired  them  to  take  wp  arms  against  the 

*  South — and  this  I  well  know,  that  many  of  my  gallant 
'fellows  left  comfortable  homes,  and  rehnquislied  good 
'  wages,    and    resigned    profitable     and    most    promising 

*  situations,  to  face  the  poor  pittance,  the  coarse  rations, 
'  the  privations,  rigours,  and  savage  dangers  of  a  soldier's 

*  life  in  the  field.'  * 

*  How  little  we  know  what  lies  in  the  future!  When  General  Meagher  wrote 
the  letter  from  which  the  above  extract  is  tsiken,  he  was  full  of  licalth  and  hopo, 
with  visions  of  a  trilliant  and  a  joyous  future  before  him.  Here  ai-c  his  own 
words  :  '  All  I  can  say— all  I  have  time  to  say— is  this,  that  I  am  in  the  very 
•best  health— so  is   Mrs.   Meagher— and  tliat  I'm  resolved  not  to  turn    my  back 

*  upon  the  Rocky  Mountains  until  I  liave  the  means  to  whip  my  carriage-and-foiir 
'through  the  New  York  Central  Park,  and  sail  my  own  yacht,  with  the  Green 
•Flag  at  the  Mizenpeak,  within  thi'ce  miles  of  tlie  Irisli  coast' 

T  have  met  with  many  men— American  and  Irish— who  have  seen  Meagher 
in  the  very  thick  of  the  fight,  and  who  spoke  with  admiration  of  the  intrepid 
gallantry  witli  Which  ho  bore  himself  on  every  occasion  ;  and  who  described 
how  on  more  than  one  memorable  field  his  noble  Brigade,  skilfully  and  daringly 
leil  by  him,  turned  the  tide  of  battle,  and  changed  the  fortiines  of  the  day.  Ere 
this,  I  believe,  more  tlian  one  volume  has  been  published  in  America,  doing 
justice  to  the  brilliant  Irishman  who  is  now  no  more,  and  chronicling  the  heroic 
deeds  of  one  of  the  most  splendid  military  organisations  of  modern  times. 

I  have  seen  Thomas  Francis  Jleagher,  not,  it  is  true,  in  the  thick  of  the  fight, 


660 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


The  Irish  citizens  did  not  enter  the  army  nt  citlier  sido 
as  a  matter  of  calculation  and  prudence,  but  as  a  matter 
of  duty,  and  from  an  impulse  of  patriotism.     Yet  if  thoy 
hiid  acted  on  deli])eration,  they  could  not  liave  done  more 
wisely  than  they  did.     '  Foreigners  [ind  aliens '  they  would 
indeed   have   proved   themselves   to   be,   had    they    stood 
coldly   aloof,  or  shown  themselves  insensible  to  the  cause 
which  stirred  the  heart  of  the  nation  to  its  depths,  and,  -is 
it   were   in   a  moment,  made  gallant  soldiers  of  peaceful 
civilians.     They  vindicated  their  citizenship  not  alone  by 
their    services,    but    by    their    sympathies;   and  in   their 
terrible    sacrifices— en    every    bloody  field   and  in   every 
desperate  assault— in   every   danger,   toil,    and  suffering- 
they  made  manifest  their  value  to  the  State,   no  less  by 
their  devotion  than  their  valour. 

From  every  State  ;  from  every  city,  town,  and  village  • 
from  the  forest  and  the  prairie,  the  hill  and  the  plain  • 
from  the  worksliop,  the  factory,  and  the  foundry  ;  from' 
the  counter  and  the  desk  ;  from  the  steam-boat,  the  wharf 
and  the  river  bank— wherever  the  Irish  were,  or  what- 
ever their  occupation,  they  obeyed. the  summons  of  their 
adopted  country,  and  rushed  to  the  defence  of  its  banner. 
They  either  formed  organisations  of  their  own,  or  they 
fell  into  the  ranks  with  their  fellow-citizens  of  other 
nationalities.  But  special  organisations,  distinctive  and 
national,  had  for  them  peculiar  attractions  ;  and  once  the 

with  the  gi^oi,  flas  glancing  anud  the  smoke  of  battle,  but  in  a  position  not  loss 
tijing  to  he  physical  and  moral  courage  of  man-in  the  dock  of  the  courthouse 
Of  Clonmel.  listening  to  the  sentence  of  death  solemnly  pronounced  upon  him  in 
the  measured  accents,  and  almost  dramatic  uttcraiK^e,  of  a  Judge  since  gone  to 
his  account  It  ,s  now  nearly  twenty  years  since  those  awe-inspiring  words  f-ll 
Pou  the  hushed  audience  in  that  crowded    court;    and   I   weU    remember,  as 

thunoZr    7     ''  """''  ''^'  ^'"'"'*  ^'^'^^■'"^  °^  ''""'  --•>"«  '^'^^l  fearless 

vh^r;       1  r,    "'«   convinced,  would   have  met  death   calnJy    in    the  cause  to 

TmSL-       ;l^'f  r  ,   "^    '""'^''''    ''''^    ""^'^    °'    ^"^   5'outh  and   dream    of   his 
mibit  oa.     Had  he  been  allowed  to  enter  the  House  of  Comn:^ns,  when  he  made 

quite  other  than  ,t  was  ;  but  the  spirit  of  faction  was  too  strong  in  fboso  davs  • 
^t „'!;,/'';"'  T  ""ff '  l"-li»"'ent  lost  a  brilliant  orator,  and  Ireland  "an 
•loquont  advocate  and  faithful  representative.   America  gainod  a  devoted  citizen. 


WHY  THE  IRISH  JOINKD  DISTIXCT  ORGANISATIONS.    551 


at  eitlier  sido 
lit  as  a  matter 
1.     Yot  if  th(;y 
ive  clone  more 
IS '  they  would 
d    tliey    stood 
B  to  the  cause 
-lepths,  aud,  'is 
rs  of  peaceful 
not  alone  by 
and  in  their 
and  in   every 
id  sufForing— ^ 
e,   no  less  by 

,  and  village  ; 
lid  the  plain  ; 
)undry  ;  from 
)at,  the  wharf, 
ore,  or  what- 
tiions  of  their 
3f  its  banner, 
own,  or  they 
ens  of  other 
stinctive  and 
and  once  the 

I  position  not  loss 
of  the  courtliouse 
need  upon  liini  in 
dgo  since  gone  to 
spiring  words  f-.-ll 
eU  remember,  as 
JiHig  and  /earless 

in  tlio  cause  to 
nd  drciiin  of  his 
IS,  when  he  niada 
nii^'ht  have  been 
!ig  in  tb.ose  days  ; 

and  Ireland  an 
a  devoted  citizen. 


green  flag  was  unfurled,  it  acted  with  niagiietic  influence, 
drawing  to  it  the  hardy  c)iildr<;u  of  J^li'iii.  There  were, 
in  both  armies,  companies,  regiments,  brigad(^s,  exclusivcily 
Iri.sli ;  but  whether  tluiro  was  a  special  organisation  or  not, 
there  was  scarc(ily  a  regiment  in  either  service  wlii(;h  did 
not  contain  a  smaller  or  greater  number  of  Irish  citizens. 
I  cannot  venture  to  particularise  or  enumerate.  The 
attempt  would  bo  idle,  if  not  invidious.  But  I  have 
spoken  to  galLint  men  who  led  them  in  action,  and  were 
with  them  amid  all  the  trials  and  vicissitudes  of  a  soldier's 
life;  and  whether  they  fought  under  a  dis'inct  organisation, 
or  without  distinction  of  national  badge  or  banner,  there 
was  only  one  opinion  expressed  of  their  lighting  qualities, 
and  their  amazing  powers  of  endurance — and  that  ecpially 
in  South  as  in  North,  in  North^as  well  as  South.  Why 
the  Irish  were  attracted  by  distinct  organisations  was 
well  explained  by  General  Meagher.  It  was  prior  >■  he 
formation  of  his  famous  Brigade  that  he  used  the  words 
I  am  about  to  quote ;  but  when  once  the  war  was  m  full 
s^ving,  and  the  hard  work  had  really  commenced,  the 
chief  inducenn  nt  of  the  Irishman  to  join  either  company, 
regiment,  or  brigade,  was  the  reputation  it  had  earned, 
and  the  glory  it  had  achieved.  In  the  course  of  his 
oration  on  McManus,  he  referred  to  the  desire  ever  then 
expressed  by  the  Irish  citizen  to  join  a  purely  Ii'ish  regi- 
ment or  brigade,  and  said  : — 

'It  is  a  pardonable  prejudice,  for  the  Irishman  never 
'  fights  so  well  as  when  ho  has  an  Irishman  for  his  comrade. 
'An  Irishman  going  into  the  field  in  this  cause,  has  this 
'  as  the  strongest  impulse  and  his  richest  reward,  that  his 
'  conduct  in  the  field  will  reflect  honour  on  the  old  land  he 
'  will  see  no  more.  He  therefore  wishes  that  if  he  falls,  it 
'  will  be  into  the  arms  of  one  of  the  same  nativity,  that  all 
'may  hear  that  he  died  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  cause 
'in  which  he  fell,  and  the  country  which  gave  him  birth. 
'This  is  the  explanation  why  Irishmen  desire  to  be  together 


I 'a 


^# 


fi62 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■  m 

< 


*in  the  figlit  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  I  am  sure  there 
•is  not  a  native-born  citizen  here  who  will  not  confess  that 
*  it  is  a  pardonable,  a  generous,  and  a  useful  prejudice.' 

This  tendency  of  the  Irish  to  join  distinct  organisations, 
whetlier  of  regiment  or  brigade,  imposed  on  them  more  of 
hard  work,  more  of  risk  and  danger,  than  fell  to  the  ordi- 
nary lot  of  the  soldier.     It  seemed  as  if  they  themselves 
should  do  more  than  others,  to  sustain  the  reputation  which 
they  had  often,  in  times  when  civil  war  was  undreamt  of, 
claimed  for  their  race — a  reputation  that  others  had  freely 
admitted  to  be  estabhshcd  beyond  question.     Not  only  had 
the  Irishman  to  maintain  the  honour  of  his  regiment,  but 
he  had  also  to  maintain  the  honour  of  his  country;  for  if 
he  fought  as   an  American  citizen,  he  also  fought  as  an 
Irish   exile.     AVc   have   thus,  independently   altogether   of 
the  natural  love  of  fight  that  seems  inherent  in  the  Irish 
blood,  the  explanation  of  the  desperate  courage  displayed 
on  every  occasion  in  which  they  were  engaged,  in  whatever 
operation  of  war,  whether  as  assailants  or  defenders,  steadily 
resisting  or  daringly  attacking.     The  character  which  they 
soon  acquired  for  courage  and  devotion,  endurance  as  well 
as   dash,    added  to   their  fame;  but   it   was  likewise   the 
cause  of  many  a  wife  being  made  a  widow,  many  a  child 
an  orphan,  many  a  home  desolate — of  mourning  and  sorrow 
at  boih  sides  of  the  Atlantic.     When  the  General  had  work 
to  do  which  should  be  ,    ne,  he  required  soldiers  on  whom 
he  could  rely ;  and  whatever  other  soldiers  were  selected, 
there  was  sure  to  be  an  Irish  regiment  among  the  rest. 
And   though   Irishmen   may  possibly,    at   the  time,   have 
grumbled  at   not  being  given   enough   to   do,  they  must 
new,  as  they  calmly  recur  to  the  past,  admit  that  they 
had,  to  say  the  very  least,  their  full  share  of  the  fight  as 
of  the  hardship,  of  the  sacrifice  as,    f  th:)  glory. 

The  Irish  displayed  a  still  nobler  quality  than  courage, 
though  theirs  was  of  the  most  exalted  nature;  they  dis- 
f)layed  mcgnanimity,  generosity — Christian  chivalry.    From 


IRISH  CHIVALRY. 


653 


'.  am  sure  there 
ot  confess  tliat 
prejudice.' 
organisations, 
them  more  of 
ill  to  the  ordi- 
ley  themselves 
pntation  which 
I  undreamt  of, 
lers  had  freely 
Not  only  had 
regiment,  but 
country;  for  if 
fought  as  an 
altogether   of 
it  in  the  Irish 
•age  displayed 
d,  in  whatever 
nders,  steadily 
ber  which  they 
urance  as  well 
I  likewise   the 
many  a  child 
iig  and  sorrow 
leral  had  work 
iers  on  whom 
were  selected, 
long  the  rest. 
le  time,   have 
io,  they  must 
nit  that  they 
f  the  fight  as 

r 

than  courage, 
ire ;  they  dis- 
ivalry.    From 


"SI 

MiKr 


one  end  of  the  South  to  the  other,  even  where  the  feeling 
was  yet  sore,  and  the  wound  of  defeat  stiU  rankled  in  the 
breast,  there  was  no  anger  against  the  Irish  soldiers  of  the 
Union.  Whenever  the  feeble  or  the  defenceless  required 
a  protector,  or  woman  a  champion,  or  an  endangered 
church  a  defender,  the  protector,  the  champion,  and  the 
defender  were  to  be  found  in  the  Irishman,  who  fought  for 
a  principle,  not  for  vengeance  or  desolation.  The  evil 
deeds,  the  nameless  horrors,  perpetrated  in  the  fury  of 
passion  and  in  the  hcence  of  victory  —  whatever  these 
were,  they  are  not  laid  at  the  door  of  the  Irish.  On  the 
contrary,  from  every  quarter  are  to  be  heard  praises  of  the 
Irish  for  their  forbearance,  their  gallantry,  and  their 
chivahy— than  which  no  word  more  fitly  represents  their 
bearing  at  a  time  when  wanton  outrages  and  the  most 
horrible  cruelties  were  too  frequently  excused  or  palhated 
on  the  absolving  plea  of  stern  necessity. 

I  could  fiU  many  pages  with  incidents  illustrative  of  this 
noble  conduct,,  did  space  admit  of  my  doing  so.  I  met,  in 
New  Orleans,  with  a  dignitary  of  the  EpiscopaHan  Church, 
who  made  the  conduct  of  the  Irish  in  the  Northern  army 
the  subject  of  warm  eulogium  ;  and  in  his  own  words, 
afterwards  written  at  my  request,  I  shall  allow  him  to  tell 
in  what  manner  the  chivalrous  Irishman  won  the  respect 
of  the  people  against  whom  he  fought,  but  whom  he  did 
not  hate,  and  would  not  willingly  humiliate. 

It  was  a  cause  of  real  grief  to  the  Southern  people  when  they  beheld 
the  Irish  nation,  in  the  midst  of  their  great  straggle  for  independence, 
furnishing  soldiers  to  fight  a  people  who  were  engaged  in  a  deadly 
contest  for  the  same  boon,  and  who  had  never  given  them  cause  of 
offence.  This  feeling  was,  however,  softened  in  the  progress  of  the 
war,  when  they  discovered  the  generous  sympathy  yet  lurking  in  the 
hreasts  of  these  misguided  men,  and  which  was  never  invoked  in  vain. 
In  every  assault  made  upon  a  defenceless  household  the  Irish  soldier 
was  among  the  first  to  interpose  for  the  defence  of  the  helpless,  to 
Blneld  them  from  insult  and  wrong. 

In  the  march  of  Sheridan's  cavalry  through  Albemarle  county, 
Virginia,  the  house  of  a  worthy  clergyman  was  about  to  be  entered 

21 


664 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


fhn-m 


I  ■*' 


m 


by  a  rude  and  tumultuous  hand,  when  an  Irishman  rushed  forward  to 
protect  the  family,  assumed   the  place  of  sentinel  and  guard,  drove  llio 
invade  s  from   the  threshold,  drajj-ed  from  his  hidden   retreat.  un.i..r 
the   portico,   a   burglar   who   was   brealvMig   into    the   cellar,  and   with 
Bword  in   hand   deiied   any   one  to  violate  the  sanctity  of  that  home 
None  dared  to  resist  him,  until  a  company  of  stragglers  following  upon 
the  heels  of  the  main  body  advanced  in  force,  and  demanded  to  know 
his  authority  for  tarrying  there  when  the  troops  had  left.    « To  defend 
this  house  from  thieves  and  burglars,'  .v^as  his  reply.    Brandishing  their 
weapons,  they  attempted  to  drive  him  from  the  place,  when  he  looked 
them  quietly  in  the  face  and  asked,  '  How  tall  are  you  when  you  are 
fat? '    The  imperturbable  coolness  of  the  Irishman  was  too  much  for 
them,  and  they  left  him  to  enjoy  the  satisftvction  of  his  heroism,  and 
the  grateful  attentions  of  the  family  he  had  so  noblv  defended.     His 
mission  did  i.at  end  there,  but  taking  from  his  knapsack  his  ration  of 
coffee  and  sugar,  which  had  not  been  consumed,  ho  insisted  that  the 
good  ramister  and  his  lUniily  should  accept  it  for  their  own  use.    The 
nature  of  this  man's  service  was   the  more  appreciated  vhen  the  ad- 
^  jacent  'plantation  was  soon  after  consumed  by  fire.     The  husband  and 
father  died  suddenly  from    the  shock,  and   the  widow  and   children 
were  left  homeless  and  foodlcss  in  the  negro  cabin,  to  lament  that  no 
Irish  soldier  was  there  to  shield  them  from  the  cruel  wrath  of  their 
countrymen. 

Again,  upon  the  visit  of  Sherman's  array  to  Mecklenbur*  co  after 
the  surrender,  the  estate  of  Mr.  S.,  the  brother  of  the  minister  referred 
to,  fell  a  prey  to  the  same  species  of  violence.  His  mansion,  one  of 
the  most  magnificent  in  the  State,  was  despoiled.  His  wife,  being  ill, 
was  confined  to  her  chamber,  when  it  was  suddenly  threatened  by  an' 
excited  group  of  soldiers  maddened  with  liquor.  Ii  vain  did  the 
physician  who  was  in  attendance  remonstrate  with  the  ruffians,  who 
insisted  upon  forcing  the  door  in  search  of  plunder.  At  this  moment 
an  Irish  soldier  came  to  the  rescue,  took  his  place  as  sentinel  at  the 
door,  hurled  back  the  crowd,  and  remained  there  for  several  hours 
the  faithful  guardian  of  that  sick  chamber,  until  the  house  was  freed 
from  its  invaders.  Every  nook  and  corner  was  searched,  everything 
plundered  thr,t  could  be  taken  away,  every  apartment  rifled  save  thai 
sheltered  under  the  xgis  of  the  brave-hearted  Irish  soldier. 

The  9tli  Connecticut,*  an  exclusively  Irish  regijnent,  was 
quartered  in  New  Orleans  during  its  occupation  by  the 
force  under  General  Butler.  Its  officers  maintained  the 
chivalrous  character  of  the  Irish  soldier,  who  fought  for  a 
principle,  not  for  plunder  or  oppression.     They  remained 

*  I  am  uot  certain  as  to  the  regiment,  but  I  am  as  to  the  natlonalitj. 


MORE  IRISH  CniVALRT. 


665 


rushed  frjrward  to 
giiiinl.  drove   llu' 
en   retroat.  undtr 
cellar,  and  with 
Uy  of  that  home, 
rs  Ibllovving  upon 
emandod  to  know 
left.     '  To  defend 
Brandishing  their 
e,  when  he  looked 
iTOu  when  you  are 
i^as  too  much  for 
his  heroism,  and 
y  defended.     His 
ick  his  ration  of 
insisted  that  the 
ir  own  use.    The 
;ed  vhen  the  ad- 
The  husband  and 
ow  and   children 
0  lament  that  no 
si  wrath  of  their 

enburg  co.  after 
minister  referred 
mansion,  one  of 
8  wife,  being  ill, 
hreatened  by  an 
In  vain  did  the 
he  ruffians,  who 
At  this  moment 
s  sentinel  at  tbo 
)r  several  hours 
house  was  freed 
3hed,  everything 
t  rifled  save  that 
er. 

regiment,  was 
)ation  by  the 
aintained  the 
)  fought  for  a 
hey  remained 

ionalltj. 


in  their  marquees,  and  would  not  take  poRsession   of  the 
houses  of  the  wealthy  citizens,  which,  according  to  the  laws 
of  war,  they  might  have  done.     '  We  canio   to  fight  men 
said  they,  '  not  to  rob  women.'     They  soon  won  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  the  inhabitants. 

A  soldier  of  this  regiment  was  placed  as  sentinel  before 
one  of  the  finest  houses  in  the  town,  which  General  Butler 
nitended  for  his  headquarters  ;  and  his  orders  were  that 
he  should  allow  nothing  to  be  taken  out— nothing  to  pass 
through  that  door.  The  sentinel  was  suddenly  disturbed 
m  his  monotonous  pacing  to  and  fro  before  the  door  of  the 
mansion  by  tJ^e  appearance  of  a  smart  young  girl,  who,  with 
an  air  half  timid  and  hp\  coaxing,  said— 'Sir,  I  suppose 
you  will  permit  me  to  take  these  few  toys  in  my  apron  ? 
surely  General  Butler  has  no  children  who  require  Sach 
thmgs  as  these  ?  ' 

'Young  woman  ! '  rephed  the  sentry,  in  a  sternly  abrupt 
tone,  that  quite  awed  his  petitioner,  '  my  orders  are  per- 
emptory—not a  toy,  or  thing  of  any  kind,  can  pass  this 
door  while  I  am  here.  But,  miss,'  added  the  inflexible 
guardian,  in  quite  a  ,di£ferent  tone,  'if  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  another  door,  or  a  back  window,  you  may  take 
away  as  many  toys  as  you  can  find,  or  whatever  else  you 
wish— I  have  no  orders  against  it ;  and  the  more  you  take 
the  better  I'll  be  pleased,  God  knows.'  The  palpable  hint 
was  adopted,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  something  more 
than  the  toys  was  saved  to  the  owners  of  the  mansion. 

Even  'Billy  AVilson's  Zouaves,'  a  few  of  whom  were 
admitted  to  be  of  the  class  known  to  pohee  definition  as 
'dangerous,'  sustained  the  honourable  fame  of  the  Irish 
soldier,  though  coming  to  the  South  as  'invaders.'  These 
lambs  consisted  almost  exclusively  of  Irish,  and  the  de- 
scendants of  Irish,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  amongst 
the  roughest  of  the  population  of  New  York.  '  They  were 
a  hard  lot— many  a  hard  case  among  them  lads,'  said  an 
Irishman,  describing  them.     StiU,  such  was  their  good  con- 


056 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•4 
.1 


I 


J  {. 


jr 


2  •'J 


I  li 


duct  in  fliG  South,  especially  in  Louisiana,  that  the  planters 
rejj^ardcd  thoni  rather  as  protectorn  than  cnemiey.  A  Creole 
lady  from  Toche  county  in  that  State  lately  wrote  to  her 
nephew,  who  had  been  on  General  Dick  Taylor's  Btiifl', 
requesting  him  to  hunt  up  Colonel  Wilson,  and  thank  him 
in  her  name  and  liis,  and  to  assure  him  of  their  continued 
remembrance  of  his  kindness,  and  the  generous  conduct  of 
his  men. 

I  myself  heard  from  the  lips  of  Southerners  praises  of 
the  gallantry  and  generosity  of  these  teriible  lighters. 

The  First  Division  of  the  Second  Corps  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  was  marching,  in  November,  18G2,  through 
Loudon  Valley,  passing  the  house  of  General  Ashby,  a 
Confederate  officer  who  had  been  recently  killed.  The 
Irish  Brigade  was  at  the  head  of  the  column.  Orders 
had  been  given  that  property  should  be  respected,  that 
nothing  should  be  touched.  As  the  Brigade  was  passing 
the  house,  a  number  of  chickens,  scared  by  the  unusual 
disf)lay,  fluttered  right  into  the  ranks,  and  between  the 
feet  of  the  men.  The  hungry  Irishmen  looked  at  each 
other  with  a  comical  expression,  iis  the  foolish  birds  ap- 
peared to  rush  into  the  very  jaws  of  danger — or  the  opening 
of  the  haversack  ;  and  many  a  poor  fellow  mentally  specu- 
lated on  the  vulue  of  each  of  the  flutterers  in  a  stew.  The 
sense  of  the  humorous  was  speedily  dispelled.  In  the 
piazza,  down  on  her  knees,  her  hands  tossed  wildly  above 
her  head,  was  an  old  woman,  thin,  stern,  white-haired  ; 
and  as  the  Brigade  was  passing  she  poured — literally 
shrieked  out — curses  on  all  those  who  fought  for  the 
*  murderers  of  her  son.'  To  Irishmen  the  curse  of  the 
widow  or  the  childless  carries  with  it  an  awful  sound  and 
a  terrible  import.  With  averted  eyes  the  gallant  men  of 
the  Brigade  marched  past  the  white-haired  mother  wlu>, 
frantic  in  her  bereavement,  knew  not  what  she  said. 

Very  fiequently  the  most  injurious  accounts  of  the  Iris'i 
heralded  their   arrival    in    a   locality ;     but    it    invariably 


k  tho  planters 
3.S.  A  Creole 
wrote  to  her 
'uylor's  Ktiili", 
id  thank  him 
sir  continued 
18  conduct  of 

rs  praises  of 
iyhters. 
the  Army  of 
802,  through 
^al  Ashby,   a 

killed.  The 
nm.  Orders 
>pected,   that 

was  passing 

the  unusual 
between  the 
>ked  at  each 
sh  birds  ap- 
L'  the  opening 
11  tally  specu- 
a  stew.  The 
ed.  In  the 
wildly  above 
^^hite-haired  ; 
fed — literally 
ght  for  the 
:3urse  of  the 
il  sound  and 
lant  men  of 
mother  who, 

said. 

of  the  Iris'i 
it    invariably 


THE  RELIGIOUS  INFLUENCE. 


fi67 


happened,  wliorover  tlioy  wore  quartered,  that  those  who 
regarded  their  coming  with  apprehension  d(^)lored  their 
departure  as  a  calamity ;  and  numerous  instances  might 
bo  told  of  communities  nKnuorialising  the  authorities  for 
their  continued  stay — the  peoi)le  justly  considering  them 
as  their  best  protectors  amid  the  insecurity  and  licence  of 
tho  moment. 

There  is  a  passage  in  a  diary  kept  by  Father  Sheeran, 
which  exemplifi(!s  the  conduct  of  tho  Irish  soldier  better 
than  any  description  could  do.  Father  Sheeran  was  one 
day  rebuking  a  simple  Irishman,  who  with  others  had  been 
taken  prisoner  by  a  surprise  attack  ui  on  tho  Federals,  for 
having  taken  part,  as  he  alleged  he  had,  in  the  plunder 
and  oppression  of  the  South.  The  Irishman's  reply,  while 
bearing  the  impress  of  truth,  represents  accurately  what 
was  the  feeling  and  conduct  of  hia  countrymen  during  the 
war. 

'Well  father,'  said  ho,  'I  know  they  done  them  things, 
'but  I  never  took  part  with  them.  Many  a  day  I  went 
'hungry  before  I  would  take  anything  from  the  people. 
'Even  when  we  had  to  fall  back  from  Lynchburg  under 
'  Hunter  thro'  AVestern  Virginia,  and  our  men  were  drop- 
'  ping  by  the  roadside  with  hunger,  and  some  were  eating 
'the  bark  off  the  trees,  I  never  took  a  meal  of  victuals 
'without  paying  for  it.* 

The  truth  is,  not  only  was  the  Irishman  free  from  the 
angry  passions  by  which  others  were  animated,  but  he  was 
constantly  inapressed  by  the  strongest  religious  influence ; 
and  to  this  cause  may  be  ascribed  much  of  tho  chivalrous 
bearing  which  he  displayed  in  the  midst  of  the  most  try- 
ing temptation  to  licence  and  excess.  The  war  had  in  it 
nothing  more  remarkable  than  the  religious  devotion  of 
tho  Irish  soldier  whenever  he  was  within  the  reach  of  a 
chaplain.  The  practice  of  their  faith,  whether  before  battle 
or  in  retreat,  in  camp  or  in  bivouac,  exalted  them  into 
heroes.     The  regiment  that,  in  some  hoUow  of  the  field, 


m 


MB 


TlIK  lUI.SlI  IN  AMKUICA. 


tt 
I' I 

I 


f 


L 


4« 


knelt  down  to  rocoivo.  baro.lH.ul...!.  ll.o  l,(.nc,clid,i„n  of 
t  u'lr  i.neHt.  noxt  mon.out  nislu..!  into  Iho  lVu.y  with  a  wilder 
clKMT  ,i,nl  a  moro  in.,,..tu„„H  (IuhI,.  That  l,on<.lic(iou 
nerved,  not  unnuiMn..(l.  thoso  ..ullHnt  nici,,  uh  the  ononiy 
diHcovcrea  to  thoir  coHt.  Even  in  the  depth  of  wintcy^ 
wlicn  the  Hnow  lay  thick  on  the  eurtli.  the  Irish  CuthoUc-! 
lederal  or  Confederate,  it  niatterc-d  not  vhich-wonld  hear 
inaH8  devoutly  on  the  hh.tk  plain  or  the  wild  hiil-side 
standin^r    ,„.h,   ,,],,,,   ^j^^^^    ^^^^^^^^^.^   ^^,^^^    cnstoniary.   and 

Whn^Mn  the  Hnow  and  hIuhK  durin^^he  ^a-eater  portion 
of  the  time.     The  same  Father  Sheeran  to  whom  I  have 
referred,  told  me  how  ho  wan  impressed  with  the  piety  of 
His    poor  fe.\ow8   on   one   deHp(,rate   Christmas    morninrr 
when,    so   heavy  was  the  snow-storm,    that  he   quite   lost 
bis  way,  and  did  not  for  a  considerable  time  reach  the  ap- 
pointed, place  where  he  was  to  celebrate  mass.      But  thoi^ 
wh(«n  he  arrived,  mis  a  f,a-eat  crowd  .f   whitened  figures 
clus  eixx    round  the  httle  tent,  in  which  an  altar  had  been 
erected  by  the  soldiers-the  only  cleared  place  being  the 
Hpot  on  which  the  tent  was  placed.     And  there,  while  the 
storm   raged,  and   sky  and   earth  were   enveloped   in   the 
whirling  snow,  the  gallant  Irishmen  prayed  with  a  fervour 
tliat  was  proof  against  every  discouragement. 

Before    battle,   it   was    not    unusual  for    the    Catholic 
soldiers  to  go  to  confession  in  great  numbers,  and  prepare 
by  a  worthy  communion  to  meet  whatever  fate  God  mi^^ht 
send  them  in   the   coming  fight.      This   practice   excited 
the    ridicule-the   quiet    ridicule-of    some,   but    it    also 
excited  the  respect  of  others.     A  distinguished  colonel  of 
genuine  American  ra^e,  who  bore  on  his  body  the  marks  of 
many  wounds,  hfe  memorials  of  desperate  fights,  was  speak- 
mg  to  me  of  the  gallantry  of  the  Irish ;  and  he  thus  wound 
up:    'Their  chaplain-a  plucky  fellow,  sir,  I  can  tell  you 
-had  extraordinary  influence  over  them ;  indeed  he  wasi 
better,  sir,  I  do  beUeve,  than  any  provost-marshal.     They 
would  go  to  mass  regularly,  and  frequeutlj-  to  confession. 


*?T' 


NOT  KNOWING  WHAT  UK  rUEACIIKD  ON. 


55'J 


onodiction    of 
with  ji  wil(l<»r 
L    Ix.'iK'tliction 
iH   till!  onomy 
-h   of    vviiittir, 
.sli  Catholic — 
. — would  hoar 
k^iU    hiJl-Hi(h), 
stonmry,    and 
L'ut(!r  i)()rtiou 
vhoin  I  hjivo 
tho  pioty  of 
us    inoniin^r^ 
10   quite   loHt 
L'cach  tlic  ap- 
But  thoro, 
cnod  figures 
ar  Imd  been 
ce  being  the 
I'e,  while  the 
)l)ed   ill   tlie 
itli  u  fervour 

iic    Catholic 
iiid  pre^iare 

God  might 
tico  excited 
3ut  it  also 
.  colonel,  of 
bo  marks  of 
,  was  speak- 
thus  wound 
!an  tell  you 
eed  he_was 
shal.     They 

confession. 


'Tis  rather  a  curious  thing  I'm  going  to  tell  you ;  but  it's 
true,  sir.  When  I  saw  those  Irislimen  going  to  confession, 
and  kneeling  down  to  receive  tho  priest's  blessing,  I  used 
to  laugh  in  my  sleeve  at  tho  whole  thing.  The  fact  is — 
you  will  pardon  mo — I  thought  it  all  so  much  danuied 
tomfoolery  and  humbug.  That  was  at  first,  sir.  But  I 
found  tho  most  pious  of  them  tho  very  l)ravest — and  that 
astonished  mo  more  than  anything.  Sir,  I  saw  these 
men  tried  in  every  way  that  men  could  be  tried,  and  I 
never  saw  anytliing  superior  to  them.  Why,  sir,  if  I 
wanted  to  storm  the  gates  of  hell,  I  didn't  want  any 
liner  or  braver  follows  than  those  Irishmen.  I  tell  you, 
sir,  I  hated  tho  "  blarney  "  before  the  war  ;  but  now  I  feel 
lik(5  meeting  a  brother  when  I  meet  an  Irishman.  I  saw 
ilunn  in  battle,  sir;  but  I  also  saw  them  sick  and  dying 
in  tlie  hospital,  and  how  their  religion  gave  tluun  courage 
to  moot  death  with  cheerful  resignation.  Well,  sir,' — 
and  tho  great  grim  war-beaten  soldier  softly  laughed  as 
he  added — 'I  am  a  Catholic  now,  and  I  no  longer  scoif  at 
a  priest's  blessing,  or  consider  confession  a  humbug.  I  can 
understand  the  difference  now,  I  assure  you.' 

There  were  other  converts  of  the  battle-field  and  the  hos- 
pital, besides  my  friend  the  (!ok)nel — and  of  higher  rank, 
too — who,  like  him,  caught  their  first  impression  of  the 
truth  from  the  men  whom  religion  made  more  daring  in 
the  fight,  more  resigned  in  sickness,  more  courageous  in 
death. 

Archbishop  Purcell,  the  oldest  of  the  bishops  of  the 
American  Church,  was  invited  to  preach  in  one  of  the 
camps  of  the  Army  of  tho  Cumberland ;  and  he  delivered 
on  that  occasion  an  admirable  discourse,  which  elicited  tho 
warm  approval  of  non-Catholics,  and  excited  the  enthu- 
siastic admiration  of  the  Irish  soldiers ;  one  of  wliom  said 
to  his  comrade — '  Did  you  bear  that,  Mick  ?  '  '  To  be  sure 
I  did,'  replied  Mick.  '  Yes,  man  ;  but  what  did  you  think 
of  it? — wasn't  it  the  real  touch?'     ' WoU,  in  my  opinion. 


I 


^1 


.'•1 


-I 


160 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


if  I'm  to  gi^o  one— and  mind  'twas  you  asked  for  it-tlie 
Arclibisliop  didn't  know  what  lie  was  preachmg  on.' 
*  Why,  what  the  d— 1  do  you  mean  ?— what's  come  over 
you ?  '  'I  tell  you  again— and  it's  only  my  opinion— the 
opinion  of  a  poor  gommal,  if  yor  hke— the  Archbishop 
didn't  know  what  he  was  preaching  on.  Look,  man,  what 
he  ims  standing  on ! '  Sure  enough,  the  Archbishop  did 
not  know  wliat  he  was  preaching  on ;  for  there  was  suffi- 
cient in  the  boxes  under  his  feet  to  blow  up  the  Vatican 
and  the  College  of  Cardinals. 

An  Irish  soldier,  wounded  badly,  was  lying  on  a  hard- 
fought  field  in  Upper  Georgia,  towards  Chattanooga.     He 
was  found  by  a  chaplain  attached  to  his  corps  in  a  helpless 
condition,  leaning  against  a  tree.     The  priest  seeing  the 
case  to  be  one  of  imminent  danger,  proposed  to  hear  his 
confession,  but  was  surprised  to  hear  him  say— 'Father, 
111  wait  a  httle.     There's  a  man  over  there  worse  wounded 
than  I  am  ;    he  is  a  Protestant,  and  he's  calhng  for  the 
priest-go   to  him  first.'     The  priest  found  the   wounded 
Protestant,  received  him  into  the  Church,  and  remained 
with  him  till  he  expired ;   he  then   returned  to  hear  the 
confession  of  the  Irish  Catholic,  whose  first  words  were 
-;  WeU,  Father,  didn't  I  tell  you  true  ?     I  knew  the  poor 
fehow  wanted  you  more  than  I  did.'    The  priest  and  the 
penitent  are  still  alive  to  tell  the  story. 

Here  is  one  of  a  thousand  instances  of  the  fact  that  the 
rehgious  influence  did  not  impair  the  martial  ardour  of  the 
Irish  soldier.     The  colours  of  a  Ten^iessee  regiment  were 
carried  Jiito  action  at  Murfreesboro'  by  a  youno-  Irishman 
named    Charles    Quinn,    of    the   famous    Jackson   Guard.' 
In   the  charge   Quinn   received   a  musket  wound   in   the 
body ;    but  instead   of  going  to   the  rear,  for   his   injurv 
was  desperate,  he  placed  his  left  hand  on  his  wound,  abso- 
lutely refusing  to  give  up  the  colours,  until  in  the  thick 
of  the  melee  ho  was  pierced  through  the  head,  and  foil 
htelcss.     The   sole  effects  of  this  gallant  Irishman  cama 


CLEANLINESS  OF  THE  IRISH  SOLDIER. 


5G1 


3d  for  it— tliG 
reachmg-  on.' 
;'s  como  over 
■  opinion — the 
e  Archbishop 
)k,  man,  what 
rchbishop  did 
3re  was  suffi- 

0  the  Vatican 

?  on  a  hard- 
banooga.     He 

1  in  a  helpless 
st  seeing  the 
I  to  hear  hia 
ay — '  Father, 
•rse  wounded 
.Ihng  for  the 
he  wounded 
nd  remained 

to  hear  the 

words  were 

ew  the  poor 

lest  and  the 

'act  that  the 
rdour  of  the 
giment  were 
g  Irishman, 
son   Guard, 
und   in   the 
his   injury 
ound,  abso- 
n  the  tliick 
id,   and  foil 
inian  cama 


into  possession  of  his  heroic  capti^in,  afterwards  one  of  the 
finest  colonels  in  the  service ;  and  these  were  an  '  Agnus 
Dei'  and  a  set  of  beads! 

The  fact  is  incontestable,  that  the  extraordinary  health 
enjoyed  by  the  Irish  who  fought  at  either  side  was  owing 
in  a  great  degree  to  their  remarkable  attention  to  cleanli- 
ness. There  are  obvious  reasons-  to  explain  why  in  the 
old  CDuntry  the  constant  practice  of  this  homely  virtue  is 
not  a  striking  characteristic  of  the  race.  Poverty  is  de- 
pressing in  its  influence,  and  somewhat  neutralises  that 
pride  wLich  manifests  itself  in  outward  appearance  ;  and, 
besides,  where,  as  is  too  often  the  case  in  Ireland,  the 
grand  battle  of  life  is  for  a  bare  subsistence — just  as  much 
as  keeps  body  and  soul  together — cleanliness  is  too  apt  to 
be  lost  sight  of,  or  regarded  as  a  luxury  beyond  the  pos- 
session of  the  poor.  But  were  one  to  draw  a  national 
inference  from  the  habit  of  the  Irish  soldiers  in  the  war, 
one  might  fairly  assert  that  cleanliness  was  one  of  the 
marked  and  special  peculiarities  of  the  Irish  race.  So 
universal  has  been  the  testimony  on  this  point,  that  doubt 
would  be  like  wanton  scepticism.  Whether  in  barrack,  iu 
camp,  or  on  the  march,  the  Irish  soldier  maintained  a  repu- 
tation for  personal  cleanliness.  "When  the  war  commenced, 
and  while  the  troops  were  yet  in  all  the  newness  of  their 
uniforms,  others  may  have  been  smarter,  or  more  dandified, 
than  the  Irish ;  but  Avhen  the  stern  work  commenced  in 
earnest,  and  uniforms  were  faded  from  exposure  and 
hardship,  or  torn  by  lead  and  steel,  and  when  the  dandy 
of  the  barrack-yard  or  the  garrison  town  had  degenerated 
into  a  confirmed  sloven,  the  Irishman  was  at  once  neat 
and  jaunty  in  his  war-worn  rags.  Whatever  the  length  of 
the  day's  march,  or  the  severity  of  the  fatigue,  if  the 
troops  came  to  a  river,  or  brook,  or  pond,  or  even  the 
tiniest  trickling  rivulet,  the  Irishman  was  sure  to  bo  at  the 
water,  as  if  with  the  instinct  of  a  duck.  He  plunged  into 
the  river  to  enjoy  the  grand  refreshment  of  a  swim,  or  if 


662 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


'f 


J 


m 


it  were  not  deep  enough  to  afford  that  healthful  luxury, 
he  washed  himself  thoroughly  in  its  shallow  stream  ;   and 
even  though  his  shirt  were  in  ribands,  as  was  too  often 
the  lot  of  the  campaigner,  it  should  at  least  be  clean,  if 
water  could  make  it  so.     I  was   amused   to   hear  a  pro- 
fessor of  Georgetown  College,  himself  an  Irishman,  describe 
the  comical  terror  of  the  authorities  of  that  noble  insti- 
tution, when  they  were  informed  that  the  three  wells  which 
supphed  the    establishment  were  in   danger   of   runnino- 
dry,   owing  to  the  incessant  ablutions  of  a  famous  Irish 
regiment— the    69th— quartered    there     previous    to    the 
battle  of  Bull  Run.     No   cat   that  pver  poHshed  her  fur 
into  velvetty  softness  was  more  careful  of  her  coat  than 
the  Irish  soldiers— Federal  or  Confederate— were  of  the 
cleanliness  of  their  persons  and  their  clothing,  such  as  it 
was.     In  fact,  the  fiercer  the  conflict  became,  the  more  fully 
were  the  soldierly  qualities  of  the  Irish  developed  :  and  when 
repeated  disasters  and  reverses  produced  their  demorahsing 
influences   on   others,    the   irrepressible   buoyancy  of    the 
Celtic   temperament   sustained  the  spirit  and  invigorated 
the  frame  of  the  hardy  Irishman.     But,  from  first  to  last, 
cleanHness   was    one    of    their   prominent    characteristics. 
And  this  I  state  on  the  highest  authority  at  both  sides 
of  the  line. 

The  following  may  show  the  value  which  Irish  soldiers 
attached  to  their  fighting  quahties  : — 

After  the  famous  battle  of  Manassas,  won  by  the  Con- 
federates, the  victors  were  gathering  the  wounded  to  con- 
vey them  to  the  nearest  hospitals.  The  Confederates  were 
generally  the  first  attended  to.  But  an  Irish  soldier  hap- 
pening to  recognise  in  a  wounded  Federal  an  old  acquain- 
tance from  his  own  pariKli  'in  the  ould  country,'  at  once 
raised  him  from  the  ground,  and  placing  him  tenderly  on 
his  shoulder  carried  his  helpless  friend  to  a  camp  hospital 
which  had  been  just  improvised,  and  attended  to  him  as 
well   as  he   could.      Next   morning,  at  an   early  hour,  he 


Ithful  luxury, 
stream  ;  and 
viis  too  often 
;  be  clean,  if 

hear  a  pro- 
nan,  describe 
i  noble  insti- 
B  wells  wliicli 

of  running 
famous  Irish 
ous  to  the 
;hed  her  fur 
3r  coat  than 
were  of  the 
J,  such  as  it 
le  more  fully 
d :  and  when 
:iemoralising 
xncy  of    the 

invigorated 
first  to  last, 
aracteristics. 
i  both  sides 

rish  soldiers 

3y  the  Con- 
ded  to  con- 
leratos  were 
soldier  hap- 
)ld  acqnaiii- 
ry,'  at  onco 
tenderly  on 
mp  hospital 
I  to  him  as 
ly  hour,  he 


m 


EESPECT  FOR  THE  LAWS  OF  WAR. 


5GS 


proceeded  to  the  hospital,  to  enquire  after  the  patient, 
and  learn  how  he  had  got  through  the  night.  He  found  a 
sentinel  at  the  door,  who  barred  the  passage  with  his 
ba\  onet.  '  You  won't  lave  me  pass,  won't  ye ! — not  to  soo 
the  poor  lad  fi'om  my  ow^n  parish ! '  '  Faith,  I  can't  ;  'tia 
again  orders,'  lyas  the  reluctant  reply  of  the  Irishman  on 
guard,  as  he  still  presented  the  weapon.  'Yerra,  man, 
stand  out  of  the  way  with  you,  and  don't  bother  me ! — 
hav'n't  we  done  the  height  of  the  fighting  on  both  sides  ?  ' 
The  boastful  query,  coupled  with  the  good-humoured 
violence  with  which  the  bayonet  was  shoved  aside,  were 
too  much  for  the  Hibernian,  who,  shouldering  his  rifle, 
consoled  himself  with  the  remark — '  Look  at  that !  Faith, 
one  can  see  that  fellow  doesn't  know  much  of  the  laws 
of  war,  or  he'd  respect  a  sintry.  "Well,  no  matter  ;  his 
intention  is  good,  any  way.' 

Here  is  a  case  where  an  Irishman  emphatically  rebuked 
an  adversary  on  the  field  of  battle,  because  of  his  violation 
of  that  law  of  war  which  prescribes  fair  fighting  as  essential. 
Early  in  Juno,  1863,  the  Federals  were  advancing  to  the 
attack    of    Secessionville   battery,   on  James's  Island,   in 
Charleston   Harbor.      Their  pickets  occupied  some  negro 
houses  and  barns  at  Legree  Point.     Captain  Klyne,  of  the 
100th  Pennsylvania,  was  in  command  of  the  picket.     The 
Charleston  battalion  and  other  troops  were  sent  to  meet 
the  enemy ;  and  so  furious  was  the  dash  made  by  a  com- 
pany of  the  Old  Irish  Volunteers,  under  Captain  Ryan, 
who  led  his  men  with   characteristic   gallantry,  that  the 
commdnder  of  the  Federal  picket  surrendered  as  a  prisoner 
of  war.     As  Captain  Klyne  was  in  the  act  of  surrender- 
ing, a  German  sergeant  w^as  bringing  his  rifle  into  posi- 
tion  to   shoot  the   Captain   of  the  VohintGors,  when   one 
of    the  Irishmen — Jerry  Hurley — who  witnessed    the   mo- 
tion, flung  down  his  rifle,  rushed  at  the  German,  caught 
liini  by  the  neck,  and,   putting  his  leg  dexterously  under 
hiui,  brought  him   to   the  ground  in  the   most   scientiiiu 


•vaai 


.1 

<-* 

H 


3 


664 


THE  J 


AMERICA. 


manner,  and  then  commenced  to  pummel  him   unmerci- 
fully  with   his  fists,   at  the   same   time    shouting— '  Blast 
your  sowl,  you  infernal  Dutchman !  didn't  you  hear  your 
Captam   surrender?     Is   that  what    you   caU   fighting  in 
your   country?    Faith,   111  teach  you  a  lesson   that  you 
won  t  forget  m  a  hurry,  my  bould  boy.     Bad  luck  to  you  I 
IS  it  murder  you  wanted  to   commit  this  fine  morning? 
Come  along  with  me,  and  FU  learn  you  better  manners  the 
next  time.'     The  poor  German,  who  howled  tremendously 
beneath  the  shower  of  blows  rained  on  him   by  the   in- 
furiated Irishman,  accepted  the  position,  and  followed  his 
conqueror,  as  he  and  his  company  rapidly  retired   after 
their  successful  dash. 

In   the   case  just  mentioned,   it  was  Irishman   against 
German,  Confederate  against  Federal ;  but  here  is  an  in- 
stance m  which,  under  rather  extraordinary  circumstances 
it  was  'Irishman  against  Irishman.      During   one   of  the 
famous  battles  of  the  war,  a  young  Irishman  named  Peter 
Hughes  was  wounded  in  the  thigh  by  a  musket  ball  and 
fell  helpless  on  the  field.     At  the  same  moment,  a  comrade 
of  his,  Michael  M'Fadden,  received  a  shot  in  the  groin 
and  feU  prostrate  on  poor  Hughes.     Hughes  had  two  in- 
firmities—an irritable  temper,   and   a  deplorable   stutter; 
and  neither  of  these  was   improved   by  the  pain   of  his 
wound   and  the  weight  of  his   comrade.      He   could  not 
shake  M'Fadden  off,  nor  could  M'Fadden  help  remaining 
as  he   feU;   so  Hughes  remonstrated  with    the   superin^ 
cumbent  mass  in   this  fashion—' Da— a— a— m—n  yo— u 
-u!    isn't   this  fie-1— Id  la-a— rge   en-n-o— ough  to 
-to     fall    in,     withe -o— out     tum— um— urn- bling     on 
m_m— e  ? '     M'Fadden  protested  his  innocence,  declaring 
he  was  not  a  free  agent  in  the  matter,  and  that  if  he  had 
his  choice,  he  would  prefer  not  falhng  at  all ;  but  Hughes 
would  take  no  excuse,  and  insisted  on  M'Fadden  turn-- 
um-um-bling   off    a-a-gain-where,  "he    didn't    care 
M'Fadden  could  not  stir,  but  Hughes  would  not  believe  m 


iiim  unmerci- 
uting— '  Blast 
ou  hear  your 
1  fighting  in 
!on  that  you 
luck  to  you ! 
ae  morning? 
manners  the 
tremendously 
I  by  the  in- 
followed  his 
retired   after 

tnon   against 
5re  is  an  in- 
rcumstances, 
one   of  the 
lamed  Peter 
£et  ball,  and 
t,  a  comrade 
1  the  groin, 
tiad  two  in- 
ble   stutter; 
pain   of  his 
s   could  not 
p  remaining 
lie   superin- 
1— n  yo— u 
0 — ough  to 
— bling     on 
e,  declaring 
'  if  he  had 
3ut  Hughes 
Id  en  turn — 
lidn't    care, 
t  believe  in 


A  NON-COMBATANT  DEFENDING  HIS  CASTLE.         306 

his  protestations  or  his  inabihty  to  move ;  so  from  words 
they  came  to  blows,  and  it  was  in  the  midst  of  a  regular 
'mill'  that  they  were  found  by  the  Infirmary  corps,  by 
whom  the  combatants  were  separated  and  carried  to  hos- 
pital, where  Hughes  recovered  from  his  wound,  and 
somewhat  improved  his  temper ;  but  for  his  stutter  thero 
was  no  hope  whatever — that  was  beyond  cure. 

The  indignation  of   an  Irishman  at  the  injury  done  to 
his  property  by  an    artillery  duel  in   Charleston    Harbor 
was  narrated  to  me  with  great  rehsh  by  a  countryman  of 
his.      The  property  cohsisted  of  a  house  and  lot  for  which 
the  owner  had  paid  $1,500  in   'hard   cash.'    The  house 
was  within   150   yards  of    Fort    Moultrie,   on    Sullivan's 
Island,  and  almost  in  the  line  of  fire  from  Fort  Sumter. 
The  firing  was   brisk,  and   many  a  ball  whisked  by,   one 
occasionally  passing  through  the  tenement,   or  taking  a 
fragment  off  a  chimney,  which  seemed  to  be   a  favourite 
target  for  practice.      The   owner,  who   would  remain  to 
'  watch  his  property,'  was  remonstrated  with,  and  advised 
to  leave  the  place,  and  not  risk  his  life.      '  Eisk  my  hfe ! 
I  care  more  about  my  house ;  and  the  devil  a  one  of  me 
will  leave  it  while  them  blackguards  are  battering  at  it  this 
way.'    For   a  day  and  a  night  he  walked  up  and  down, 
'protecting  his  property,'   and   occasionally  .eheving  his 
mind  by  cursing  Major  Anderson,  to  w^hom  he  attributed 
personal  spite  and  malignity  of  the  blackest  dye.     As  a  tile 
or  a  bit  of  the  chimney  was  carried  away,  he  would  exclaim, 
'  Oh  blood!  isn't  this  a  mighty  hard  case  ?    Why  then,  Major 
Anderson,  may  ould  Nick  fly  away  with  you,  and  that  you 
may  never  come  back— that's  my  prayer,  sure  enough.'— 
'There  again!— there's  more  of  your  purty  tricks!     The 
devil  run  buck-huniing  with  you.  Major  Anderson.'     '  My 
curse  on  you,  hoi  and  heavy,  Major  Anderson,  that  wouldn't 
Iea\'    ^..  decent  man's  little   property  alone.'     At   length, 
one  imlucky  shot  tore  away  five  feet  of  the  chimney,  which, 
came  clattering  to  the  ground  in  a  shower  of  bricks  and 


m 


m 


l»'l.' 


n 


I 


666 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


mortar.  'There  now!  I  said  he'd  do  it,  and  he's  done  it 
without  doubt.  Why  then,  Major  Anderson,  may  I  never 
be  father  over  iny  children  if  I  won't  make  you  pay  for 
this  work,  if  there's  law  to  be  had  for  love  or  money. 
You're  in  for  it  now,  my  line  joker— and  I'm  the  lad  to  salt 
you— see  if  I  don't!' 

Fortunately  no  amount  of  cannonading  could  destroy 
the  'lot,'  and  the  injury  to  the  chimney,  with  an  odd 
ventilator  or  two  in  the  shape  of  shot-holes,  were  the 
entu-e  results  of  Major  Anderson's  'mean  spite'  against 
the  owner  of  this  critically  circumstanced  property;  so, 
when  the  chimney  was  rebuilt,  and  the  holes  were  fiUed 
up,  the  temper  of  the  proprietor  was  restored  to  its  ac- 
customed serenity.  And  the  time  even  came  when  he 
could  tell  with  much  humour  how  sturdily  he  defended 
his  castle  from  the  guns  of  Fort  Sumter. 

I  was  much  amused  at  hearing  a  crusty  American  over- 
seer of  the  genuine  old  school  tell  an  anecdote  of  an  Irish- 
man with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted.  At  the  battle  of 
Manassas,  this  Irishman,  whose  name  was  Morriss,  of  the 
18th  Mississippi,  when  the  order  was  given  to  his  company 
to  lie  down  and  reload,  and  thus  allow  the  storm  of  shell 
nnd  balls  to  pass  over  their  heads,  retained  his  erect  posi- 
tion, crying  out— 'By  japers!  I  didn't  come  here  to  lie 
down  and  fight ;  I  came  here  to  stand  up  and  fight  hke  a 
man.'  His  clothes  were  riddled  with  bullets,  and  his  flesh 
was  torn  in  a  few  places,  but  he  escaped  all  serious  injury, 
as  if  by  a  miracle.  After  a  hard  chuckle  at  the  fun  of  the 
thing,  the  Southerner  added—'  From  now  on,  that  Irish- 
man could  get  along  without  ever  doing  another  lick  of 
work;  but  Morriss  is  an  industrious  man,  and  a  good 
gardener,  and  he  can  help  himself  quite  enough.' 

Of  the  various  conflicts  of  which  the  harbour  of  Charles- 
ton was  the  scene,  that  which  took  place  on  the  9th  of 
October,  18G3,  when  an  attack  was  made  on  Fort  Sumter, 
then  in  the  possession  of  the  Confederates,  may  by  men- 


DEFENDED  WITH  BRICTKBATS. 


567 


1  he's  done  it 
1,  may  I  never 
3  you  pay  for 
ve  or  money, 
the  lad  to  salt 

could  destroy 
with  an  odd 
les,  were  the 
spite'  against 
property ;  so, 
es  were  filled 
red  to  its  ac- 
ime  when  he 
he  defended 

merican  over- 
3  of  an  Irish- 
;  the  battle  of 
[orriss,  of  the 
'  his  company 
jtorm  of  shell 
is  erect  posi- 
)  here  to  lie 
d  fight  hke  a 

and  his  flesh 
prions  injury, 
he  fun  of  the 
I,  that  Irish- 
other  lick  of 

and  a  good 
ti.' 

r  of  Charles- 
1  the  9th  of 
?'ort  Sumter, 
Qay  by  men- 


tioned, on  account  of  the  rather  novel  mode  of  defence 
successfully  adopted  by  a  portion  of  the  garrison.  The 
United  States  troops,  under  Gilmore,  were  at  Morris 
Island,  and  the  celebrated  Dahlgren  had  command  of  the 
fleet.  Fort  Sumter  was  defended  by  Major  Elliot;  the 
garrison  consisting  of  the  Charleston  battalion — which 
was  'pretty  much  Irish' — with  two  companies  of  Artillery, 
The  Old  Irish  Volunteers,  the  representatives  of  an  organi- 
sation dating  back  more  than  seventy  years,  were  entrusted 
with  the  defence  of  the  east  wall  or  rampart.  About  one 
o'clock  at  night  the  Captain  in  command  of  the  Irish  VoU 
unteers  discovered  a  small  boat  evidently  reconnoitering, 
and  at  once  gave  the  alarm.  In  a  few  moments  after,  a 
large  body  of  Federals,  aided  by  GOO  men  from  the  fleet, 
commenced  a  vigorous  assault.  The  fort  was  not  taken 
by  surprise,  owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the  Irish  Captain, 
whose  command  faced  the  channel ;  and  the  enemy  were 
fired  upon  before  they  could  effect  a  landing.  In  a  short 
time  a  brisk  attack  was  made  on  the  southern  and  eastern 
face.  The  southern  face  was  opposite  to  Morris  Island, 
and  was  attacked  by  the  land  force.  In  little  more  thcin  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  Federal  fire  on  the  east  side  slack- 
ened, while  it  was  sustained  with  Avarmth  on  the  south. 
This  cessation  of  fire  on  the  eastern  side  excited  the 
renewed  suspicion  of  the  Captain  in  command ;  and  on  re- 
connoitering, it  was  found  that  a  number  of  the  attacking 
force  had  effected  a  lodgment  on,  or  rather  in,  the  face  of 
the  rampart,  which  in  this  place  had  been  hollowed  out 
by  previous  and  repeated  bombardments.  The  assailants, 
who  were  thus  out  of  the  range  of  fire,  and  who  believed 
that  the  fort  was  almost  in  their  possession,  laughed  with 
derisive  scorn  when  called  on  from  above  to  surrender. 
Lodged  in  the  very  face  of  the  wall  or  rampart,  not  only 
were  they  thus  out  of  the  reach  of  the  guns,  but  not  even 
a  rifle  could  be  conveniently  brought  to  bear  against  them. 
What  were  the  defenders  to  do,  in  this  case?     'Why,  pelt 


668 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


m 


m0t 


1 


1 

% 

•mi 


.ft 


M-' 


I? 


them  out  of  tlmt,  to  bo  sure.'     ^he  men  were  ordorod  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  for  the  moment  valueless,  and  make 
the   best   use   they  could   of  the  fra^nnonts  of  brickwork 
with  which  the  ramparts  were  abundantly  supplied.  '  The 
Old  Irish  Volunteers  entered  into   the  fun  of  the  thing 
amazinnrlj  ;  it  was  quite  an  unexpected  source  of  diversion, 
and  so  they  vigorously  proceeded  to  roll  masses  of  masonry 
down  the  face  of  the  rampart,  and  pelt  brickbats  at  the 
partly-hidden    foe    from    every  possible    vantage-ground, 
while  joke   and  jibe,  most  galling  to  the   assailants,  ran 
along    the    line,   like   a  brisk  fire    of    small    arms.     The 
amusement  was  pleasant    enough  for  the   gentlemen   on 
the   rampart,   but    not   at   all   so   agreeable   to   their   un- 
expected visitors    beloAv;   and    after   enduring   the   novel 
species  of  artiUery   as   long  as  they  possibly  could,    the 
latter  surrendered.     103  of  the  enemy,  including  10  or  12 
officers,  yielded  to  the    gentle  influence  of  the  brickbats, 
not  being  desirous  of  any  longer  keeping  up  the  game  of 
*  cock-throw,'  of   which  the  fan  was  altogether  one-sided, 
and  against  them. 

AU  apprehension  of  further  danger  being  at  an  end,  the 
Irishmen  made  the  Federal  officers  welcome  to  the  best 
entertainment  in  their  power  to  afford.  But  the  rough 
fare  did  not  ^eem  to  please  the  captives,  one  of  who'm 
rather  supercUiourJy  remarked,  that  he  understood  the 
Southerners  had  the  character  of  being  a  hospitable 
people  ;  but  if  they  treated  their  guests  on  other  occasions  * 
no  better  than  they  treated  them  then,  they  might  possibly 
forfeit  their  character  for  that  virtue. 

The  Irish  Captain,  after  making  a  punctilious  bow, 
worthy  of  a  Ohesterfield,  thus  replied:— 

'Well,  Sir,  I  would  bo  sorry  that,  through  me,  the 
State  should  lose  its  well-earned  reputation  for  hospitality; 
but  it  is  usual,  even  in  the  South,  when  visitors,  especially 
a  considerable  number,  as  in  your  case,  ir.tend  to  honour 
a  gentleruan  by  taking   up   their  quarters   at   his   housfl 


NOBLESSE  OBLIGE.' 


6C9 


that  thoy  should  give  somo  intimiition  of  tlieir  intention ; 
or  if  thoy  were  resolved  on  making  a  "surprise  party"  of 
it,  as  was  evidently  the  intention  in  the  present  instance, 
they  should  provide  for  themselves.' 

The  joke  was  once  more  against  the  assailants ;  but  as  it 
was  not  so  bad  as  the  brickbats,  it  was  received  in  good 
humour,  and  captors  and  captives  were  soon  on  the  best 
terms. 

The  same  officer  who  indulged  his  men  in  the  exciting 
game  of  brickbats  on  the  eastern  rampart  of  Fort  Sumter, 
was  in  command  of  a  sand-bank  battery  of  three  guns, 
situate  between  two  narrow  marshes,  the  solid  land  being 
about  eighty  yards  in  front.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
important  positions  in  the  defence  of  Charleston,  and  was 
not  taken  until  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  On  the  16th 
of  June,  18G2,  the  Federals  made  a  desperate  attempt  to 
take  this  battery,  but  were  foiled  by  the  pluck  with  which 
the  Irishmen  defended  it  against  overwhelming  odds  until 
they  were  reinforced ;  the  body  of  the  Confederates  being 
800  yards  distant  when  the  attack  commenced.  And  never 
was  pluck  more  called  for  than  on  this  occasion,  owing  to 
the  panic  which  seized  the  commander  of  the  picket  in  front 
of  the  fort.  That  officer  suddenly  rushed  in,  right  over  the 
battery,  having  made  no  resistance  to  the  advancing  enemy, 
whose  numbers  scared  away  his  wits  for  the  moment. 

•  What  means  this  conduct  ? '  sternly  enquired  the  Irish- 
man. 

'Oil,  you  can  do  nothing — it's  impossible — you  must 
retire — the  enemy  are  in  overwhelming  strength — it's  no 
use — it's  madness  to  resist  them — you  can  do  nothing 
against  such  desperate  odds.' 

'  You  can  retire  if  you  please,  and  nobody  will  be  any- 
thing the  wiser ;  but  if  /  left  my  post,  the  whole  world 
would  know  of  it ;  and  sooner  than  do  anything  that  would 
affect  the  honour  and  reputation  of  Irishmen,  or  of  Ireland, 
I'd  stay  here  till  Doomsday.' 


670 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


sIB^ 


■  ■■* 


This  was  no  vain  boast ;  for,  after  expending  their  am- 
munition, the  IriHhnien  foufrht  with  chihbod  nuiHkota  and 
with  Hiich  Kavago  energy,  that  the  enemy  were  kept  at  bay, 
and  the  important  position  heUl  until  the  body  of  the 
Confederates  had  time  to  come  up.  Then  commenced 
a  batth)  which  fiercely  raged  from  the  early  dawn  of  that 
summer's  morning  to  half-past  8  o'clock,  when  the  Fede- 
rals were  compelled  to  retire.  It  was  known  as  the  Battle 
of  Secessionville,  and  was  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  se- 
verest of  the  war  in  the  South.* 

At  one  of  the  battles  in  Virginia  a  company  of  Con 
federates  charged  a  company  of  Federals.  The  latter 
yielded  to  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge,  gave  way,  and 
fled,  all  save  one  man  alone,  who  said—*  You  may  kill  mo 
if  you  plaze,  but  not  all  the  rebel  army  will  make  me  run.' 
The  cool  courage  of  the  soldier  at  once  disarmed  hostility. 
'Then  will  you  surrender?'  he  was  asked.  'Oh,  yes,  there 
is  no  disgrace  in  that,'  he  repHcd;  'I  surrender.'*^  So  long 

*  In  one  of  the  enRascmonta  which  have  made  Charhiston  momorablo  lu  the 
hiBtory  of  the  worhl,  there  fell  one  of  the  in«*t  proniiHing  young  soldiers  of  the 
war.-Captain  John  Mitdiell,  bou  of  the  famous  Irisliman  of  tliat  name;  who 
lost  two  of  his  sons  ia  battle,  while  a  third  was  repeatedly  iind  desperately 
wounded.      Capfciiu    John    Mitehell  was    the    idol  of   his  men,   for    his  gay  and 

gallant  spirit,  )iis  wit,  his  i.-.: Lis  playfulness  and  gentleness  of  disposition, 

couibnied  with  the  courage  of  a  lion.  How  ho  fell,  and  what  was  the  estimate 
formed  of  him,  will  bo  best  told  in  the  words  of  General  Beauregard,  tho  iUus- 
trlous  defender  of  Charleston  :— 

'Near  Peteubburo,  Va.,  August  6,  1864. 

'Dear  Plr,-I  trust  tlie  condition  of  aflairs  here  will  be  my  excuse  for  not 
having  addressed  you  sooner  relative  to  the  irreparable  loss  you  sustained  lately 
In  the  death  of  your  gallant  son,  Capt.  John  Mitchell.  He  served  under  my 
or.lers  during  the  most  trying  periods  of  the  siege  of  Charleston.  At  Fort  Sumter, 
Battery  Simkins,  and  on  Morris  Island,  he  displayed  such  coolness,  energy,  and 
intelligence,  that  I  selected  him,  from  many  aspirants  ambitious  of  the  honour, 
to  re])lacc  Col.  lUiott  in  tho  command  of  Fort  Sumter  whenever  circumstanee.s 
compelled  (hat  gallant  officer  to  absent  himself  from  tliat  important  post. 

'In  A  our  bereavement  you  should  derive  consolation  from  tho  thought,  th;it 
your  sou  fell  at  his  post,  gloriously  battling  for  the  independence  of  his  country, 
carrying  with  him  the  regret  of  his  friends  and  the  respect  of  his  enemies. 

♦  I  remain,  with  respect,  j  our  most  obedient  servant, 

'G.  T.  Beauheqabd, 
'John  Mitchell,  Esq,' 


ng  their  am- 
inuskotH,  and 
kei)t  at  bay, 
body  of  tlio 
comiaenoed 
lawn  of  that 
m  tho  Fedo- 
as  tho  Battlo 

0  of  tho  BO- 

iny  of  Con 
The  latter 
vo  way,  and 
may  kill  mo 
iko  me  run.' 
icd  hostility, 
h,  yes,  there 
r.'     So  long 

icmorablo  iii  the 
3;  soldiers  of  tho 
;liat  name ;  wlio 
unci  doRi)erat(!ly 
for  his  gay  and 
a  of  disposition, 
vas  the  estimate 
•cgard,  tho  illus- 

ugustO,  1864. 

excuse  for  not 
sustained  lately 

Tved  under  my 
At  Fort  Sumter, 

ess,  energy,  and 

1  of  the  honour, 
r  circumstauoe.i 
post. 

e  thought,  that 
!  of  his  country, 
lemies. 

lent  servant, 
Beauhegabd, 


PAT'S  LITTLE  GAME. 


671 


as  he  remained  a  prisoner,  ho  was  a  great  favourite  with  his 
captors — oiu!  of  wliom  I  hoard  narrate  tho  circumstaiioo. 

To  tho  (luick-wittodnoHs  and  cooluoss  of  an  Irishman  the 
Federals  wore  indebted  for  their  preservation  from  no 
Kinall  disaster,  and  the  Confederates  for  serious  loss  and 
<,aeat  discouragement.  Some  time  after  Fort  Pulaski,  at 
the  mouth  of  tho  Savannah  river,  had  been  tidccni  from  tho 
Confederates,  a  small  picket  boat,  steered  by  a  midshipman, 
and  rowed  by  f(Hir  sailors — two  Georgians  and  two  Irish- 
men— was  making  its  way  cautiously  in  the  direction  of 
the  fort,  *to  see  how  tho  land  lay.'  Tho  Irishmen  were 
Federalists,  who  had  been  pressed  into  tho  Confederate 
navy,  and  were  then,  against  their  inclination,  serving  on 
board  the  '  Atlantic,'  a  blockade-runner,  which  had  been 
converted  into  an  iron-clad,  and  still  preserved  her  fast- 
fjtoaming  cpialities.  The  reconnoissance  had  been  made, 
and  the  boat  was  on  her  way  back,  when  the  officer,  taking 
oil"  his  pea-jacket,  called  out  to  the  bowman — '  Here,  Pat ! 
catch  hold  of  this,  and  stow  it  under  the  bow;'  and  ho 
added — '  Take  care  how  you  handle  it,  you  Irish  son  of  a 
bitch ;  there  are  revolvers  in  it.'  Quick  as  thought,  the 
pistols  were  taken  from  the  coat  by  Pat,  who  handed  one 
of  them  to  his  countryman,  and  pointed  the  other  at  the 
midshipman,  exclaiming  in  a  voice  expressive  of  merriment 
and  triumph — 'Now,  you  son  of  a  bitch,  steer  us  straight 
for  Fort  Pulaski,  and' — turning  to  the  Georgians — 'you 
sons  of  bitches,  pull  us  there,  or  we'll  blow  the  tops  off 
your  bloody  heads!'  The  gallant  young  fellow  had  no 
option  but  to  do  what  he  was  ordered  by  the  possessors  of 
his  revolvers,  and  the  boat  was  rowed  right  into  the 
liinding-place  of  the  enemy.  Pat  was  brought  before  the 
otficer  in  command,  to  whom  he  imparted  the  important 
intelhgenco  that  the  '  Atlantic,'  for  which  the  Federals  had 
been  constantly  on  the  look-out,  was  next  morning  to  pass 
through  St.  Augustine's  Creek,  into  Warsaw  Sound,  thus 
avoiding  the  fort,  and  getting  into  the  open  sea,  where  she 


m 


87S 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


^  ' 


was  certain  to  inflict  onorniouH  dania^'o  on  the  commGroe 
of  tho  Union,  and  Hink  any  vesHol  that  did  not  oqual  \w,y  in 
speed  or  in  power.  Tliis  was  startHn^,'  inteliif^'once  indeed, 
for  there  was  but  a  Hin<>fle  f,nm-bottt  at  the  Cnuik,  and  this 
tho  'Atlantic'  might  disregard,  or  couhl  destroy.  Acting 
npon  the  information,  an  Irish  officer  of  high  rank,  wlio 
liappcned  to  be  at  the  time  in  the  fort,  at  once  started  on 
horseback,  and  never  spared  whip  or  spnr  till  he  arrived 
at  Port  Royal  Bay,  where  a  Federal  fleet  was  stationed. 
In  a  short  iinio  two  iron-clads  and  two  h.avy  transports 
were  steaming  for  the  Creek,  where  the  'Atlantic'  was 
caught  as  if  iir  a  trap.  The  'Irish  son  of  a  bitch'  had  the 
best  of  the  'Httle  game.' 

I  heard  an  admirable  description  given  by  an  Irishman 
in  tho  Confederate  service — an  officer  who  had  served  with 
great  distinction — of  his  countrymen  as  soldiers.  Tho 
portrait  is  true  to  the  life,  and  as  faithfully  represents  tho 
soldier  of  the  Union  as  the  champion  of  tho  'Lost  Cause.' 
I  heard  tho  same,  though  not  in  the  same  words,  from 
Americans  at  both  sides  of  the  line.  My  friend  thus  hits 
ofT  his  compatriots  as  belligerents  : — 

'My  experience  of  the   Irish   in   our    army   was   this— 
that  they  could  endure  more  than  any  men  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.     They  would  march  all  day,  and  tho  officer  in 
charge   would  have   trouble  enough   to   keep   them  from 
playing  tricks  on  one  another  ;  and  when  all  others,  tired 
by  bodily  fatigue,    would    lie   down,   indifferent   to   what 
would  happen,  they  would  be  as  lively  as  ever;  and  if 
there  were  a  chance  oi  uuy  devilment  up,  they  were  bound 
to  be  in  the  midst  c^    [,     '}'.  Is  is  the  universal  opinion  of 
the  officers  of  the  Confederate  army  with  respect  to  the 
Irish  under  their  command.     They  were  sometimes  difficult 
to  manage,  but  the  fault  did  not  generally  lie  with  them. 
Theii-  officer  should  be  worthy  of  their  respect.     The  first 
condition  of  their  confidence  is,  that  he  must  bo  worthy  of 
it—that  he  is  brave  and  daring— that  ho  can  be  trusted— 


IRISH  DEVOTEDNESS. 


573 


tlie  commeroe 
t  equal  hor  in 
|,'oiu'(;  iiidotHl, 
r()(;k,  and  this 
<troy.  Acting 
igh  rank,  who 
CO  started  on 
ill  lie  arrived 
vas  fitationed. 
ivy  transports 
Atlantic'  was 
)itch '  had  the 

r  an  Irishman 
d  served  with 
jldiers.  The 
opresents  the 
Lost  Cause.' 
words,  from 
nd  thus  hits 

Y  was  this — 
)n  the  face  of 
;he  officer  in 
)   them  from 

others,  tired 
ent  to  what 
3ver;  and  if 

were  bound 
al  opinion  of 
spect  to  the 
inies  difficult 
0  with  them, 
t.  The  first 
)e  worthy  of 
be  trusted — 


that  ho  won't  shirk  his  duty— that  he  is  ready  himself 
to  do  what  ))o  asks  them  to  do.  Satisfy  them  on  ihis 
essential  point,  and  there  is  nothing  tludr  hiader  cannot 
do  with  them,  or  that  they  won't  do  for  him.  Thtjy  would 
reu  lily  die  for  him  ;  and  if  there  be  a  bit  of  fresh  meat, 
or  a  chicken,  or  other  delicacy  to  bo  had  by  foraging  ~ 
and  they  aro  first-rato  at  that— ho  is  bound  to  have  his 
share  of  it.  There  are  no  keener  judges  of  an  officer  than 
they  are;  and  wee  to  the  officer  who  excites  their  con- 
tempt.' 

What  wonderful  devotion  to  a  brave  officer  l)y  a  bravo 
Irish  soldier  does  not  the  follo^ving  present !  I  give  it  in 
the  words  it  was  told  to  me  : — 

My  brother,  Brevet  Lieut.-Col.  James  F.  M'Kllione,  Regnlur  Anuy, 
at  Gaines'  MIIIh,  Va.,  while  commiUKling  the  colour  company,  14  Inf. 
U.S.A.,  then  l.st  Lieut,,  17  years  of  age,  waa  wounded  lute  in  the  oay 
with  a  Minie  ball  in  the  side,  at  the  time  supjjosed  to  be  niortiil.  His 
'striker,'  Michael  M-Grath  by  name,  who  had  brought  to  the  'lef- 
(inint '  a  pot  of  hot  tea  during  a  warm  (iro  from  the  enemy,  had  no 
liarsher  expression,  when  a  bullet  s[)illed  the  regretted  beverage  upon 
the  ground,  tlian  '  Damn  ye!  ye  didn't  know  what  a  divil's  own  time  I 
had  to  get  (he  hot  watlier,  or  ye  wouldn't  have  done  it.'  This  noble 
fellow  remained  wilii  his  officer  upon  the  field,  went  with  liim  to 
Savage's  Station  hospital,  was  a  faithful  attendant  during  the  battle  that 
raged  there  during  the  ensuing  Sunday,  accompanied  him  us  jirisoner 
to  Richmond,  feigning  to  be  wouiuled  so  as  to  prevent  separation, 
built  a  covering  of  blankets  in  the  railroad  dep6t  to  save  him  from 
rain,  successfully  e.verted  in  every  way  a  fertile  ingenuity  to  get  the 
best  in  a  town  crowded  to  suH'ocation  with  wounded  of  both  armies 
after  the  seven  days'  battles  ;  and  finally,  when  my  brother  was  brought 
on  parole  to  Baltimore  by  sea,  and  located  in  a  private  house  used  as  a 
hospital,  this  Irish  soldier  I  found  sitting  by  his  bedside,  fanning  his 
fevered  brow,  and  as  gentle  a  nurse  almost  as  any  woman  could  be. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  29th  June,  18()2,  as  I  have  already 
said,  the  battle  raged  fiercely  around  the  hospital,  some  being  killed 
and  wounded  near  the  building.  My  brother  and  M'Grath  saw  with 
anxiety  the  increasing  chances  of  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Up  came  the  OUlh  New  York  (an  Irish  Regiment),  to  the 
last  charge.  My  brother,  now  no  more,  has  related  often  that,  for  the 
time,  he  forgot  his  own  sad  plight  and  acute  suffering.     Tl)oro  was  a 


674 


TUE  IIllSH  IN  AMlililUA. 


■  t 


1     % 
1 


■^ 


K  una  a„.  ,n-c.on  Ha,,  c.r  I.vlund  an,  ho,m>   to  pulsulo  .ua.lly  Ibrwar.l  • 

au,  a^  „,„,„,   and  sw,..,,  o.nvanl  (ill   Uu-^   „,a,k  a  position   .hIm..; 
'  a    |a  <lo  won.     ...t  a«  tho  n-Ki-uont  was  ,oin,  into'tl.o  v./-  ,;' 
•'  ^l^"''  1'.    ono  man   .n    ti.o  rear  rank  cric.l  out  to  tl.o  otl...-  '  LnJ, 
-,«  '^>;';>  -;1  .l.>n-t  l>o  alVaid/to  ...ioh  instantly  cann'tli        1^ 

Immiuoral  :o  stories  arc  \M  of  ilic  IrisLman's  irropres- 
siblo  lovo  of  iiolit.     There  i.s  not  a  town  that  has  not  its 
liero  of  a  Juinarod  tales  ilhistrativc  of  this  ^rancl  passion 
of  the  race      lh(>re  was  a  soldier  in  the  South  who,  <lurin.^ 
u  lull,   wo.tld    be  'detailed'  to  make  shoes  for  the  n.en  • 
but,    whenever   there  was    a    eertai.ity   of    Terry  Nolan's 
leunno.    Hhe   nuisie '-of    the   whistlino-  rifle-bullets   and 
the  Hn)^.n^.  slu>lls-then  he  was  seen  trotting,  towards  his 
hue  wdh  his  rule  on  his  shoulder,  ready  to  take  his  part 
in  the  concert.     Terry's  appearance  was  (piite   as  conclu- 
sive as  an  order  of  the    day,  for  with    infahible  scent  ho 
sni  led  the  battle  from  afar  ;  and  as  the  valliant  Crispin 
took  his  place  in  his  company   he  was  invariably  hailed 
^^;ith  a  cheer.       The  men  knew  they  were  in  for  it  wh<m 
lorry    showed    his  Celtic  visage,  with  the  liyht  of  battle 
gleanuno-  m  his  eyes. 

^AVhy  then  Captain,' said  a  ft-reat  strapping.  Irishman  to 
the  commander  ol  Ins  company,  ns  he  scratcluul  his  head 
AVI  h  a  kmd  ot  basld'ulness  that  sat  rather  iU  on  him  - 
why  then,  Captahi,  could  you  tell  us  when  we're  .^oino'to 
have  something,  to  do  ?  The  boys  want  a  lio-ht  bad  ;  tley 
bacn  t  one  now  for  a  long  time,  and  sure  they  can't  b'e 
always  without  a  scrimmage  of  some  kind  or  another,  just 
to  keep  their  hand  in,  as  one  may  say.' 

;i  tell   you,  my  man,' replied  the  Captain,  'you'll  have 
quite  enough  of  it  soon.'  i        '     ) 

Taitli,  Captain,  Tin  thinking  it's  you  d^^n't  care  Ixu-  it 
yourself,  and  that's  the   raison  the  poor  boys  don't  get  it/ 


Tin<:  LOVK  OF  KIGIIT. 


675 


•  Now  llic  Union 
o  Miiidly  rorwiiid  ; 
■■>PI'<''i'".  wooii  Ihi-y 
ii  poMiliou  gained 
ilo  llu!  vvvy  'jawH 
I)  oUicr,  '  'I'ooincy, 
Y  ciinit}  tlio  nu<r\-y 
I'll    Bumsh    your 


nan's  irroiireH- 
lilt  lias  not  its 
{^'raiul  pjissioii 
■h  who,  <luriii<^^ 
for  tlio  men  ; 
TcuTj  Nolan's 
le-bullcts   and 
^  (o wards  liis 
tako  his  2)art 
to    as  conclii- 
liblo  scent  ho 
lliant  Crisi)iii 
iriably  hailcnl 
I  for  it  when 


ht  of  battlo 


■  Irishman  to 
lied  his  head 
U  on  hinj,-— 
e'ro  ^'oin<^-  to 
bt  bad  ;  tlicy 
hey  can't  b(3 
another,  ju,st 

'you'll  have 

t  care  for  it 
don't  get  it,' 


replied  the  disa])i)ointed  aml)assador,  with  a  look  of  un- 
ci isj^-iiised  (ront(!in[)t. 

That  captain  did  not  remain  lon;»'  witli  his  company. 

A.  colonel  told  me  that,  prtivioiis  to  one  of  the  famous 
battl(\s  of  the  war,  he  had  }^nveu  liis  second  horse  in  care 
ol'  his  orderly,  an  Irishman,  nauKnl  Mohmey,  with  positive 
instructions  to  keep  it  for  him  in  reserve;  but  that  scarce- 
ly had  tlie  firing  well  commencjod  than  he  saw  Mcjloney 
spurrin<,'  his,  the  colonel's,  horse,  brandishin<,'  his  sword, 
and  rushinj^'  into  the  thick  of  the  li^^dit.  The  colonel  c(ju1<1 
not  sacrifice  his  li,;}-se,  even  to  ^a-atify  his  orderly's  warlike 
ardour;  so  jxjor  Moloney  was  cai)tured,  and  in^doriously 
led  back.  'How  dare  you,  sir,  disobcsy  my  ord(irsV'  asked 
the  indif^niant  colon(jl.  'Why,  colonel,  I  felt  I'd  l)e  dis- 
graced if  I  hadn't  a  dash  at  them  with  the  boys.  Yes, 
faith,  colonel,  I  could  never  hold  up  my  head  again.'  'It 
was  a  bare-faced  excuse,  sir,'  said  the  colonel,  when  telling 
the  story, — 'it  was  nothing  but  sheer  love  of  fight;  for 
Moloney  hadn't  to  make  his  character  then — he  had  a  good 
record  long  before.' 

Even  wIkju  wounded  and  sick  in  hospital,  the  'music' 
was  too  attrtictive  to  be  resisted,  if  they  could  contrive  to 
get  on  their  legs  at  all.  An  American  oflicor  mentioning 
instances  of  the  kind,  said : — 

'At  the  Battle  of  Shilcjh  an  Irishman  of  this  company 
received  a  very  severe  llesli  wound  in  the  shoulder,  and 
was  carried  back  to  the  Infirmary  depot,  as  all  supposed, 
disabled  for  several  months.  We  became  hotly  engaged 
soon  after,  and  to  my  surprise  I  saw  this  man  in  the  ranks 
of  his  company,  fighting  like  a  tiger,  the  blood  running 
fi-eely  from  his  arm.  As  soon  as  I  could,  I  enquired  of  him 
why  he  was  not  at  the  hospital.  'Oh,  colonel,'  he  said, 
'  when  I  heard  the  guns  going  I  was  afraid  the  boys  would 
be  lonesome  without  me,  so  you  see  I  came  to  keep  them 
company;  besides,  my  arm  is  not  so  bad,  after  all.' 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  fit  which  side  of   the  line 


676 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


fH 


S3 


■I 
.1 


1 


IS!' 


tlio  fi-htiii-  qualities  of  tho  Irish  wore  hold  in  hi-hest 
caioeiu  l)j  thoHo  who  were  opposed  to  them ;  for  while 
tho  Southern  has  often  said  'Send  away  your  damned 
Irish,  and  we'll  wliip  you  well,'  tho  Northern  as  fre- 
quently said,  'If  all  in  the  South  fought  like  the  Irish 
Secession  would  long  since  bo  an  accomplislied  fact/ 
General  Patrick  Cleburne,  confessedly  one  of  the  best  men 
of  the  war,  used  to  say  that  he  never  had  tougher  work 
than  when  he  met  tho  Northern  Irish-that  Sweeney  gave 
him  tho  hardest  lighting  he  over  had. 

A  general  who  commanded  a  Soutliorn  brigade,  in  which 
half-that  is  6,000  out  of  tho  10,000  who  from  time  to 
tnne  recruited  its  ranks  as  volunteers— were  Irish,  thus 
spoke  of  them  to  mo  : — 

'If  to-morrow  I  wanted  to  win  a  reputation,  I  would 
have  I^-ish  soldiers  in  preference  to  any  others ;  and  I  tell 
you  why.     First,   they  have   more   dash,   more  Man  than 
any   other   troops   that   I  know   of;  then   they  are   more 
cheerful  and  enduring— nothing  can  depress  them.     Next 
they  are  more  cleanly.     The  Irishman  never  failed  to  wash 
himself  and  his  clothes.     Not  only  wore  they  cheerful,  but 
they  were  submissive  to  discipline  when  once  broken  in— 
and  where  they  had  good  officers  that  was  easily  done  ;  but 
once  they  had  conlidenco  in  their  officers,  their  attachment 
to  them  was  unbounded.     And  confidence  was  estabhshed 
the  moment  they  saw  their  general  in  the  fight  with  them 
Afterwards   they  would  say-"  You  keep  back.  General- 
tell  us  where  to  go,  and  we'U  be  sure  to  go  ;  but  we  don't 
want  you  to    bo    killed ;   for,   faith,  we   don't   know   what 
would  become  of  us  then."    They  required  strict  discipline; 
but  they  always  admitted  the  justice  of  their  punishment 
when  they  believed  their  commander  was  impartial ;   and 
they  never  were  sullen,  or  bore  maHce.     There  was  one 
great  element  of  strength  in  these  men— they  were  volun- 
teers, every  man  of  them.     Many  could  have  been  excused 
on  the  ground  of  their  not  being  American  citizens,  as  not 


TESTIMONIES  TO  THE  IRISH  SOLDIER. 


577 


3l(l  in  hifi^hest 
!in;  for  while 
your  (lamiicd 
liorn  as  fro- 
iko  tlio  Irish, 
iphshod  fact.' 
the  best  men 
tougher  work 
Sweeney  gave 

ido,  in  which 
Prom  time  to 
0  Irish,  thus 

iion,  I  would 
s;  and  I  tell 
re  4lan  than 
ey  are  more 
them.     Next, 
liled  to  wash 
cheerful,  but 
broken  in — 
y  done ;  but 
L'  attachment 
3  estabhshed 
:  with  them. 
r,  General — 
Jut  we  don't 
know   what 
it  discipline; 
l^unishment 
•artial;   and 
re  was  one 
were  volun- 
)en  excused 
zens,  as  not 


more  than  one-third  of  them  had  a  right  to  vote  at  the 
time  ;  but  they  joined  of  their  own  free  will— no  Irishman 
was  conscripted.  I  repeat,  if  I  hjid  to  take  from  one  to 
10,000  men  to  make  a  reputation  with,  I'd  take  the  same 
men  as  I  had  in  the  war— Irishmen  from  the  city,  the 
levees,  the  river,  the  railroads,  the  canals,  or  from  ditching 
and  fencing  on  the  plantations.  They  make  the  finest 
soldiers  that  ever  shouldered  a  musket.'  And  this  was  the 
testimony  of  one  of  the  fiercest  fighters  of  the  war. 

Another  officer  of  rank  says  what  he  thinks  of  the  Irish: 

'  My  opinion  of  the  Irish  is  partial.  I  commanded  many 
of.  them,  and  I  can  appreciate  their  value.  None  were 
more  gallant,  or  none  more  faithful  to  our  cause  ;  and  it 
was  owing  to  there  being  ho  many  of  them  at  the  other 
side  that  we  failed.  Those  I  commanded  were  some  of 
the  best  soldiers  I  ever  saw ;  but  I  think  they  arc  better 
when  they  are  by  themselves,  in  companies  or  regiments. 
Good  soldiers  indeed!  they  worked,  and  fought,  and 
starved,  just  as  required  of  them.  The  feeHng  of  the 
South  is  of  the  warmest  character  to  them.  If  the  war 
started  afresh,  I'd  raise  an  entirely  Irish  regiment,  in 
preference  to  any  other.  They  would  be  more  under 
discipline,  and  could  be  controlled  better  than  a  mixed 
regiment.  I  admit  that  when  they  are  in  the  camp,  and 
there  is  nothing  for  them  to  do,  they  may  get  into  mischief ; 
but  in  the  field  they  are  thoroughly  reliable.' 

Here  is  the  testimony  of  one  who  knew  the  Irish  well. 
It  is  a  chaplain  who  speaks :  and  though  he  saw  them  in 
battle,  he  knew  more  of  them  when  the  fight  was  over  : 

'Commanders  prefer  them,  not  only  for  their  bravery, 
but  their  cheerfulness,  and  for  their  cleanliness  and  neat- 
ness as  soldiers.  When  others  would  be  resting,  the  Irish- 
men would  be  washing  their  clothes,  and  would  then  play 
games  in  their  buff  till  they  were  dried.  They  were  true 
Holdiers — tigers  in   battle,  lambs    after.     It  was    beautiful 

to  ^ifne^s  their  conduct  to  the  enemy ;  they  were  kind  as 

26 


578 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


• 

women  to  tliem,  assisting  the  wounded,  dividing  their  raticns 
with  them— losing  every  feeHng  of  anger  and  hostiHty.' 

Testimonies  without  number  might  be  quoted ;  but  one 
from  a  soldier  whose  fame  is  European,  may  well  stand  in 
the  place   of  many.     It  is  General  Beauregard  who  thus 
gravely  records  his  deliberate  and  weighty  judgment  of  the 
Irish  :     '  Kelative  to  the  soldierly  quahties  of  the  Irish  who 
*  took  a  part  in  our  late  war,  I  beg  to  state,  that  they  dis- 
'  played  the  sturdy  and  manly  courage  of  the  English,  com- 
'  bined  with  the  impetuous  and  buoyant  character  of  the 
'  French.     They  required,  at  times,  only  discipHne,  which  is 
'  always  attained  under  good  officers,  to  be  equal  to  the 
'best  soldiers  of  any  country.     They  always  exhibited  on 
'the  field  of  battle  great  gallantry,  and  during  the  opera- 
'  tions  of  a  campaign  showed  much  patience  and  fortitude. 
'  They  joined  the  Confederate  ranks  at  the  first  caU  of  the 
'  country  for  volunteers,  and  remained  to  the  last,  devoted 
'  and  true  to  the  cause  they  had  zealously  espoused.     They 
'  were  found  to  be  always  the  worthy  companions  of  the 
'gallant  Confederate  soldiers  with  whom  they  fought,  side 
'  by  side,  during  over  four  years  of  an  internecine  struggle  ' 
'Whichever    way,'    says    a    Northern    general    with    a 
splendid  'record,'  'we  turn  for  the  history  of  Irish  Ameri- 
cans, the  case  is  the  same  ;  we  meet  with  nothing  but  cause 
for  honest  pride-they  are  true  patriots,  good  citizens,  and 
splendid  soldiers.' 

'  Ah,  Sir ! '  said  General  Longstreet,  whom  I  met  in  New 
Orleans,  'that  was  one  of  the  handsomest  things  in  the 
whole  war ! '  What  was  this  handsomest  thing  of  the  war  ^ 
The  manner  in  which  the  Irish  Brigade  breasted  the  death 
storm  fi-om  St.  Mary's  Heights  of  Fredericksburg.  Six 
times  in  the  face  of  a  withering  fire,  before  which  whole 
ranks  were  mowed  down  as  corn  before  the  sickle,  did  the 
Irish  Brigade  rush  up  that  hill—rush  to  inevitable  death.  '  I 
looked  with  my  field-glass,'  said  the  Adjutant-General  of 
General  Hancocks  staff,   'and  I   looked  for  a  long  time 


THE  HANDSOMEST  THING  OF  THE  WAR.  57J* 

• 

before  I  was  certain  of  what  I  saw.     I  at  first  thou^lit 
that  the  men  of  the  Brigade  had  lain  down  to  allow  the 
showers  of  shot  and  shell  to  pass  over  them,  for  they  lav 
m  regular  lines.      I  looked  for  some  movement,  some  stir- 
a  hand  or  a  foot  in  motion  ;  but  no-they  were  dead-dead 
every  man  of  them-ciit  down  Hke  grass.'      In   these  six 
desperate   charges   that   Brigade   was   almost   annihilated. 
But  there  was  no  flinching  for  a  second.      Again  and  again 
they  braved  that  heU-storm,  and  would  have  done  so  a^ain 
and  again ;  but  of  the  1,200  that  bore  a  green  badge  in  their 
caps  that  mornmg,  nearly  a  thousand  of  them  lay  on  the 
bloody  field,  literally  mown  down  in  ranks.     Little  more 
than  200  rations  were  that  night  issued  to  the  remnant  of 
that  heroic  band.      'It  was  the  admiration  of  the  whole 
army.'     'Never  was  there  anything  superior  to  it.'      But 
General  Longstreet's  eulogium-'It  was  the  handsomest 
thmg   of  the   war,'   leaves   nothing  unexpressed.     Behind  • 
the    stone   wall,   from    which    rained    the    deadliest   fire 
dehvered  within  range,  and  with   terrible  precision,  were 
men  of  the  same  blood  and  race  as  those  who  were  thus 
wasting  their  hves  in  unavaihng  devotion.     The  Georgian 
regiment  which  lined  that  fatal  barrier  was  mostly  Iri«h  • 
and  from  one  of  those  who  took  part  in  that  day's  ter- 
rific  strife,  I  heard   some  particulars  of  painful  interest 
Colonel  Robert  M'MiUan  was  in  command  ;   and  though 
death  was  in  his  family,  he  would  not  quit  his  post  on  that 
eventful  day.      When  the   Brigade   was    seen   advancing 
trom  the  town,   they  were   at    once   recognised  by   their 
^reen  badge,  that  sent  a  thrill  to  many  a  brave  but  sor- 
rowful heart  behind  that  rampart.      '  God !  what  a  pity ' ' 
said  some.     '  We're  in  for  it,'  said  others.     '  By  heavens ' 
here  are  Meagher's  fellows,'  said  more.     The  voice  of  the 
Colonel  rang  clear  and  shrill-'  It's  Greek  to  Greek  to-day 
boys-give  them  hell ! '      And  they  did.     For  that  deadly 
fusiiade  was  the  genuine  feu  d'enfer..     Well  mio-ht  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  ol  the  military  historians  of  the'day  assert 


580 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


0^ 


that  *  never  at  Fontenoy,  at  Albuera,  or  at  Waterloo,  wag 
more  undoubted  courage  displayed  by  the  sons  of  Erin,  thfui " 
during  those  six  frantic  dashes  which  they  directed  against 
the  ahnost  impregnable  position  of  the  foe.'  *  It  was  a  sad 
but  glorious  day  for  our  country ;  it  made  us  weep,  but  it 
made  us  proud,'  said  an  Irishman,  who  helped  to  lay  tJiose 
thousand  dead  in  their  bloody  grave. 

A  German  Staff  Officer  of  the  Confederates  says  of  the 
Irish  Brigade,  how  they  fought  in  the  memorable  seven 
days'  fight  in  front  of  Kichmond  : — 

The  attack  was  opened  by  the  columns  of  Ilill  (1st).  Anderson,  and 
rickett.  These  gallant  masses  rushed  forward  with  thundering  hurrahs 
upon  the  musketry  of  the  foe,  as  though  it  were  a  joy  to  them*.  Whole 
ranks  went  down  under  that  terrible  hail,  but  nothing  could  restrain 
their  courage.  The  billows  of  battle  raged  fiercely  onward;  the 
struggle  was  man  to  man,  eye  to  eye,  bayonet  to  bayonet.  The  hostile 
Meagher's  Brigade,  composed  chiefly  of  Irishmen,  offered  heroic  resis- 
tance. After  a  fierce  struggle  our  people  began  to  give  way,  and  at 
length  all  orders  and  encouragements  were  vain— they  were  falling 
back  in  the  greatest  confusion.  Infuriate,  foaming  at  the  mouth, 
bare-headed,  sabre  in  hand,  at  this  critical  moment  General  Cobb 
appeared  upon  the  field,  at  the  head  of  his  legion,  and  wiih  the  19th 
North  Carolina  and  14th  Virginia  regiments.  At  once  these  troops 
renewed  the  attack ;  but  all  their  devotion  and  self-sacrifice  were 
in  vain.  The  Irish  held  their  position  with  a  determination  and 
lerocity  that  called  forth  the  admiration  of  our  officers.  Broken  to 
pieces  and  disorganised,  the  fragments  of  that  fine  legion  (Cobb's) 
came  rolling  back  from  the  charge. 

Almost  while  I  write  these  words,  I  read  of  the  death  of 
one  who  made  his  name  famous  in  the  military  annals  of 
America.  Stricken  by  the  Yellow  Fever,— that  grisly  king 
which  has  slain  more  victims  by  many  times  than  fell  at 
Fredericksburg,— now  lies  in  his  grave  a  gallant  Irishman, 
Eichard  Dowling,  of  Houston,  Texas,  who  at  Sabine  Pass 
performed  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  feats  of  the  whole 
war.  This  Lieutenant  Richard  Dowling, — 'Major  Dick 
Dowling,'  as  he  has  since  then  been  famiharly  styled,~do- 
fendiijg  this  Pass  in  an  earthen  fort,  protected  by  a  couple 


PATRICK  RONAYNE  CLEBURNE. 


681 


SVaterloo,  was 

s  of  Erin,  tlifni 
rected  against 
'  It  was  a  sad 
8  weep,  but  it 
id  to  lay  tliobe 

BS  says  of  the 
Qorable   seven 


.).  Anderson,  and 
indering  hurraba 
to  them:  ■\VJiole 
g  could  restrain 
ily  onward ;  tlio 
net.  The  hostile 
red  heroic  resis- 
sive  way,  and  at 
ley  wore  falling 
:  at  the  mouth, 
t  General  Cobb 
d  wiih  the  19th 
nee  these  troops 
ilf-saci'ifice  were 
termination  and 
ers.  Broken  to 
legion  (Cobb's) 


:  the  death  of 
tary  annals  of 
lat  grisly  tmg 
3  than  fell  at 
ant  Irishman, 
;  Sabine  Pass 
?  of  the  whole 
-'Major  Dick 
y  styled, — do- 
■d  by  a  couple 


of  serviceable  guns,  and  manned  by  42  Irishmen,  cripfled 
an  attacking  fleet,  baffled  an  important  expedition,  and 
actually  captured  of  the  enemy  more  than  ten  times  the 
number  of  his  gallant  band !  From  the  despatches  of  the 
Federal  commanders  the  world  might  have  imagined  that 
a  legion  fought  behind  that  rampart :  but  the  astounding 
victory  was  entirely  owing  to  the  accurate  aim.,  sheer  pluck, 
and  matchless  audacity  of  Dick  Dowling  and  his  forty-two 
Irishmen — to  whom  the  Confederate  Congress,  as  well  they 
might,  passed  a  solemn  vote  of  the  nation's  thanks. 
Light  rest  the  earth  on  the  breast  of  all  that  remains  of 
gallant  Dick  Dowling ! 

As  I  cannot  attempt  an  enumeration  of  the  various 
Irish  organisations  that  won  distinction  in  the  war,  neither 
can  I  venture  on  a  hst  of  the  gallant  Irish  officers,  even 
of  the  highest  rank,  who  signalised  themselves  by  their 
achievements  in  that  memorable  struggle.  I  have  before 
me  a  long  Hst  of  men  who  commanded  regiments,  brigades, 
divisions,  and  corps ;  but  fearing  that,  from  my  imperfect 
knowledge,  I  should  necessarily  fall  into  error,  and  be 
guilty  perhaps  of  very  serious  injustice  if  I  relied  upon  it, 
I  must  adopt  the  only  course  left  open  to  me,  and  deal  in 
generalities.  Then,  leaving  the  praises  of  men  hke  Shiel 
or  Sheridan,  the  Murat  of  the  Union — Irish  by  blood, 
American  through  birth — to  other  pens,  I  shall  simply 
say  that  the  gallantry  and  skill  of  the  Irish  officer,  of 
whatever  rank,  was  quite  as  conspicuous  as  the  dash  and 
endurance  of  the  rank  and  file. 

But  there  is  a  grave  amidst  the  countless  graves  that 
mark  the  scene  of  one  of  the  deadliest  conflicts  of  the  war, 
on  which  I  would  drop  a  kindly  tribute — that  is  the  grave 
of  Patrick  Ronayne  Cleburne,  one  of  the  noblest  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  Confederacy. 

Patrick  Ronayne  Cleburne  was  born  within  a  few  mile& 
of  the  city  of  Cork.  His  father — the  son  of  a  country 
gentleman  in  Tipperary — was  for  many  years  physician  of 


5S8 


THE  IRISn  IN  AMERICA. 


J 


3 


tbo   dispensary   districts   of  Ovens   and   BaUincoUig  ;    his 
mother,    Miss    Ronayne,    was    a    lady   from   (^lecnstown. 
I  atrick,  the  youngest  of  three  sons,  was  partly  educated 
for  the  medical  profession ;  but  his  tastes,  from  his  carhest 
youth,   tending   to  a  military  career,   and,   owing  to   his 
father's  second  marriage,  which  resulted  in  a  second  and 
numerous  family,  not  being  able  to  purchase  a  commission 
as  an  officer  i^.  the   British  Army,  he  in    his  eighteenth 
year  enhsted  iti   the  41st  regiment  as  a   private  soldier 
He  remained  in  the  service  until  he  was  twenty-one,  when 
he  was  purchased   out  by  his  friends.     But   these  three 
years  of  military  training  in  one  of  the  most  thoroughly 
disciplmed  armies  of  Europe  was  of  incalculable  advantage 
to  hmi  m  after  hfe.     He  emigrated  to  America  when  the 
war  broke  out ;  and  it  found  the  young  Cork  man  prac- 
tising with  success  as  a  lawyer  in  Helena,  Arkansas. 

I  have  been  favoured  with  an  admirable  biographical 
sketch  of  General  Cleburne  by  his  attached  friend  and 
distmguished  commander,  General  W.  T.  Hardee,  one  of 
the  most  thoroughly  accomplished  soldiers  of  either  army  • 
and  referring  the  reader  to  that  sketch,  which  wiU  bo 
found  in  the  Appendix,  I  shall  here  simply  indicate  what 
manner  of  man  was  this  Patrick  Ronayne  Cleburne  who 
learned  his  knowledge  of  miHtary  driU  and  discipline  in 
the  ranks  of  the  41st  British  regiment  r .  •  ^y.     To 

begin,  then ;  this  heroic  Irishman,  who  was  j..  .  as  a 

wall  of  granite  to  the  foe,  was  as  simple  as  a  ,,  and 

as  modest  as  a  gii^l  ;  and  that  voice  that  rang  like  a 
trumpet  when  cannon  roared,  and  balls  whistled  about  his 
head,  was  low  and  gentle  and  hesitating  when  he  wa.s 
exposed  to  the  most  formidable  of  aU  batteries  to  him,  a 
pair  of  eyes  in  the  head  of  any  woman  of  moderate  youth 
or  ordinary  attractions.  His  personnel  is  thus  sketched  by 
a  worthy  countryman  of  his,  whom  he  visited  in  Mobile,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  his  friend  General  Hardee 
whose  'best  man  '  ho  was  on  that  interesting  occasion:    '  ij 


GENERAL  CLEBURNE  AND  HIS  OPINIONS. 


68:; 


illincollig  ;    hia 
1   Queeustown. 
artly  educated 
om  his  earliest 
owing  to   his 
a  second  and 
a  commission 
lis   eighteenth 
rivate  soldier, 
nty-one,  when 
t   these  three 
st  thoroughly 
ble  advantage 
'ica  when  the 
rk  man  prac- 
ansas. 

biograj5hicaI 
i  friend  and 
irdee,  one  of 
either  army ; 
Inch  will  bo 
indicate  what 
leburne,  who 
discipline  in 
v.  To 
r  as  a 
a  1,  and 

rang  like  a 
id  about  his 
hen  he  was 
es  to  him,  a 
ierate  youth 
sketched  by 
1  Mobile,  on 
iral  Hardee, 
iSasion :    '  la 


person  he  was  about  five  feet  nine  or  ten  inches  liigK 
slender  in  form,  with  a  wiry  active  look.  His  foroliead 
was  high  and  broad,  with  high  check  bones,  cheeks  rather 
hollow,  and  face  diminishing  in  width  towards  the  chin, 
the  upper  features  being  more  massive  than  the  lower. 
The  general  expression  of  his  countenance  in  repo.se  was 
serious  and  thoughtful;  but  in  conversation  he  was  ani- 
mated and  impressive,  while  his  whole  air  and  manner 
were  remarkably  unpretending.' 

General  Cleburne  dining  one  day  with  the  good  Irish- 
man whose  words  I  have  quoted,  informed  him  that  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  during  the  war  to  be  a  total 
abstainer,  because  he  found  that  in  his  pistol  practice  and 
in  playing  chess,  of  which  game  he  was  remarkably  fond, 
oven  one  glass  of  wine  affected  his  aim,  or  interfered  with 
his  calculation.  He  determined,  therefore,  while  the  war 
lasted,  and  he  was  responsible  for  the  lives  of  others,  and 
the  results  consequent  on  the  manner  in  which  he  should 
discharge  his  duties,  that  he  would  abstain  altogether  from 
the  use  of  all  kinds  of  liquor. 

Cleburne  was  in  favour  of  arming  the  negroes  as  sol- 
diers, conferring  upon  them  and  their  families  freedom  as 
a  bounty.  He,  with  several  distinguished  generals,  signed 
a  petition  to  President  Davis  to  that  effect,  and  he  per- 
sonally offered  to  take  command  of  a  division  of  &uch 
troops,  when  raised.  But  the  movement  failed  on  account 
of  the  opposition  which  it  met  with.  In  private  conversa- 
tion he  said  that  the  general  sentiment  of  the  world  waa 
against  the  Confederacy  on  the  question  of  slavery,  and 
that  Southerners  could  look  nowhere  for  active  sympathy 
unless  they  made  some  such  arrangement  as  he  mentioned  : 
and  he  unhesitatingly  expressed  his  belief,  that  the  suceerss 
of  the  cause  depended  upon  its  adoption.  He  did  not 
pronounce  a  decided  opinion  against  slavery  in  the  abstract, 
but  he  regarded  the  system  in  the  South  as 
glaring  defect^   and  evils,   especially   the   utter  d 


having 


68i 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


< 


of  the  married  rights  of  tho  slaves,  which,  he  said,  waa 
enough  to  deprive  tho  States  in  which  this  evil  existed 
of  the  aid  of  Providence  in  the  war.  The  opinions  held 
by  General  Cleburne  were  those  emphatically  expressed 
in  writing  and  from  the  pulpit  by  the  Catholic  BishoDs 
of  Richmond  and  Savannah* 

The  opinions  of  a  man  of  Cleburne's  stamp,  as  to  the 
character  of  the  Irish  as  soldiers  I  give  in  the  words  of 
the  friend  who  heard  them  expressed  by  that  groat  General : 
I  In   reference   to   the  relative   merits,  as  soldiers,  of  tho 
'different  kind  of  men  in  the  service,  he  said  he  preferred 
I  the  Irish,  not  on  the  ground  of  their  courage,  for  of  that 
•there  was  no  lack  in   the   Confederate   service,  but  for 
'other  qualities,  highly  useful  in  war.     After  a  long  day's 
'march  they  generaUy  had  their  tents  up  first;  they  were 
I  more,  cleanly  in  their  persons ;  under  the  fatigue  of  hard 
•work,  or  a  heavy  march,  they  showed  more  endurance, 
•and  recovered  sooner;    they  were   more  cheerful  under 
•privation;    and  above  aU,  they  were  more  amenable   to 
•discipline.     These,  he  said,  were  highly  useful  qualities 
•m  war;   and  from  actual  observation  he  was  persuaded 
-'the  Irish  soldiers  possessed  them  in  a  higher  degree  than 
•any  other  people  that  came  under  his  eye.' 

Cleburne  was  one  of  those  Irishmen  who  never  could 
understand  how  it  was  that  his  countrymen  of  the  North 
could  join  with  the  'Yankee'  to  oppress  and  crush  the 
South ;  but  had  he  been  a  lawyer  in  a  Northern  or  North- 
western  State,  he   might  have  been  equally  surprised  if 
any  one  had  accused  him  of  turning  his  mihtary  knowledge 
to  the   same  purpose.     His  countrymen  throughout  the 
Northern   States  were  proud  of  his  splendid  reputation; 
while  in  the  South  it  was  not  considered  second  to  that  of 
the  very  greatest  of  its  commanders.     And  when  he  died 
—struck  by  a  storm  of  bullets,  as  the  fore  feet  of  his  horse 
were  planted  on  the  Federal  ramparts— a  wail  of  sorrow 

_*  See  Appendix. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


6S5 


and  a  slmcltlcr  of  despair  pasHed  tbrougli  the  land.  A 
tower  of  strenfrth  had  fallen.  Tlio  dauntless  soldier  sleeps 
in  peace  in  the  cemetery  v^iose  solemn  beauty  ehcited 
the  strange  remark,  as  he  gazed  on  it  a  few  days  before  ho 
gloriously  fell,  *  It  is  almost  worth  dying  to  rest  in  so  sweet 
a  spot.' 

I  heard  the  heroic  Irishman  thus  spoken  of  by  two  brave 
men— General  Buckner  and  General  Hood— who  had  been 
with  him  in  many  a  memorable  fight,  and  many  a  bril- 
Uant  victory.  Referring  to  his  name,  the  first-named 
goneral  said  : — 

And  particularly  did  I  recall  the  virtues  of  the  Irish  character,  when 
a  few  short  months  ago,  I  stood,  in  tht;  twilight  hour,  over  the  grave  of 
one  of  the  noblest  sons  of  Ireland.  As  I  looked  upon  the  plain  board 
inscribed  with  his  name  in  pencil  lines,  and  upon  the  withered  flowers 
which  the  fair  handa  of  some  of  our  countrywomen  had  strewn  upon 
his  grave,  I  wept  silent  tears  to  the  glorious  memory  of  General  Patrick 
Cleburne.  He  commanded  a  brigade  in  my  division,  and  afterwards 
succeeded  me  in  the  command  of  troops  whom  I  cannot  more  highly 
praise  than  to  say  he  was  one  of  the  few  who  was  worthy  to  (jommand 
such  men.  And  conspicuous  amongst  such  gallant  men,  and  worthy 
soldiers  of  such  a  glorious  leader,  were  Irishmen,  who  illustrated  their 
high  military  virtues  on  so  many  fields,  and  displayed  on  so  many 
occasions  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  they  had  espoused. 

And  thus  spoke  General  Hood,  who  bears  in  many  a 
scar  and  wound  eloquent  testimonies  to  his  desperate  but 
unavailing  gallantry : — 

During  the  late  war  it  was  ray  fortune  to  have  in  my  command 
organisations  composed  of  your  countrymen,  and  it  gives  me  pleasure 
to  assert  that  they  were  always  at  their  post.  And  among  these  brave 
men  was  to  be  found  the  gallant  Cleburne.  His  name  carries  me  to 
the  heights  near  Franklin.  And  his  last  remarks,  just  before  moving 
forward,  I  shall  ever  remember.  He  said :  '  General,  I  have  uiy  division 
in  two  lines,  and  am  ready.  General,  I  am  more  hopeful  of  the  success 
of  our  cause  than  I  have  ever  been  since  the  war  commenced.'  Within 
twenty-five  minutes  this  brave  soldier  was  no  more.  Withiu  an  hour 
an  army  was  in  mourning  over  the  great  loss.  Thus  ended  the  career 
of  this  distinguished  man— hopeful  even  at  the  last  hour,  but  doomed 
to  disappointment  as  all  other  mea. 


A8< 


THE  lUISH  IN  AMEIIICA. 


Araonca  is  a  country  of  wonders,  where  things  nro  to  be 
seen  of  which  tlio  old  world  mind  ctiu  have  no  concep- 
tion. But  nothing  that  I  bchckl  impressed  mo  with  the 
same  admiration,  and  indotut  with  the  same  astonishment, 
as  the  manner  in  which  a  people,  whoso  tremendous 
struggle  of  four  long  years'  duration  enchained  the  atten- 
tion of  every  civilised  nation,  returned  to  the  peaceful 
pursuits  of  civil  life.  To  my  mind,  there  was  something 
great  beyond  description  in  this  unrivalled  spectacle.  A 
few  months  before,  and  the  earth  resounded  with  the 
clash  of  armed  legions,  mightier  and  more  numerous  than 
any  which  Europe  had  assembled  for  centuries  ;  and  where 
is  the  trace  of  this  colossal  conflict  in  the  bearing  and  de- 
portment of  the  people  ?  You  may  behold  its  marks  and 
traces,  in  the  desolated  track  of  the  conqueror  ;  in  the 
sedge-broom  now  usurping  the  once  fruitful  soil ;  in  rifled 
and  ruined  dwellings  abandoned  to  decay  ;  in  burned  cities 
rising  anew  from  their  ashes  :  in  crumbUng  embankments 
and  road-side  ramparts,  which  cost  so  much  blood  and  so 
many  gallant  lives  to  take  or  to  defend, — but  in  the  calm 
dignified  attitude  of  the  great  American  people,  who  have 
sheathed  the  sword  and  laid  aside  the  rifle,  you  cannot 
perceive  them. 

Where,  you  unconsciously  ask,  are  the  soldiers,  the 
fighting  men,  the  heroes,  who  bore  a  distinguished  part  in 
that  protracted  contest  ?  Have  the  brigades,  the  divisions, 
the  corps,  the  armies,  of  which  we  read  in  bulletin  and 
report — have  they  sunk  into  the  earth,  or  have  they 
vanished  in  the  air?  If  not,  how  are  these  men  of  war 
employed  ? — can  they  settle  down  to  the  ordinary  pursuits 
of  life  ;  or  have  they  been  fatally  intoxicated  by  the  smoke 
and  excitement  of  battle,  and  utterly  demoralised  by  the 
licence  of  the  camp  ?    You  shall  see,' 

"Who  is  that  remarkable-looking  man,  with  something 
of  the  clanking  sabre  in   his  carriage,   yet  with  nothing 


igfl  nro  to  be 
I  no  coiiccp- 
no  with  tho 
stoiiiHhniont, 

trcuioiidoua 
1(1  tho  attou- 
the  pojiccful 
IS  somethnig 
ipcctttde.  A 
ed  with  tho 
merous  than 

;  and  where 
ring  and  do- 
;s  marks  and 
ror  ;  in  the 
)il ;  in  rifled 
burned  cities 
nibankments 
>lood  and  so 

in  tho  calm 
le,  who  have 

you  cannot 

sokliers,  tho 
shed  part  in 
;he  divisions, 
bulletin  and 
r  have  they 
men  of  war 
lary  pursuits 
by  the  smoke 
alised  by  tho 

h  something 
vith  nothing 


AFTER  TUE  WAR. 


687 


more  warlike  iu  his  hand  than  or  memorandum  book,  with 
a  bundle  of  harndess  papers  protruding  from  the  bnjast- 
pocket  of  a  coat  that  seems  to  cling  to  his  broad  chost  us 
if  it  were  a  uniform?  A  commercial  ag(!nt.  Yes,  now; 
'  but  what  was  he  a  few  months  since?  One  at  whoso  mere 
mention  wives  and  mothers  paled,  and  with  the  in(!antati<jn 

of  whose  name  nurses   hushed   their  fractions   charge a 

daring  leader  of  cavalry,  whoso  swoop  was  as  lierce  and 
sudden  as  the  eagle's. 

Here,  down  in  this  new  city,  in  the  midst  of  the  tall 
pines,  you  see  that  coach  factory,  full  of  waggons,  and 
buggies  of  all  kinds;  and  what  is  that  bearded  man  em- 
ployed at?  A  sewing-machine?  Impossible;  it  can't  be 
—and  yet  it  is.  Yes,  it  is.  That  tall  l^earded  man  held 
high  rank  in  his  corps;  but,  the  war  over,  and  hatinir 
idleness,  he  established  this  thriving  factory;  and  with  his 
own  hands  he  is  now  sewing  and  embroidering  the  curtains 
of  that  carriage  which  is  to  be  sent  for  in  a  day  or  two  by 
its  purchaser. 

At  yon  lawyer's  desk,  covered  with  open  or  tape-bound 
documents,  an  anxious  client  awaiting  his  opinion  of  that 
knotty  case,  sits  one,  now  immersed  in  the  intricjicy  of  a 
legal  problem,  whose  natural  element  seemed  to  be  umid 
the  thickest  press  of  battle,  where  squadrons  rushed  on 
serried  bayonets,  or  dashed  at  belching  batteries. 
.  Calmly  giving  some  minute  instruction  to  a  deferential 
clerk,  respecting  a  delayed  train,  or  dictating  an  answer 
to  some  impatient  enquiry  concerning  a  missing  parcel  or 
a  bale  of  dry-goods  left  behind,  is  a  man  whoso  wisdom 
and  whose  courage  were  the  hope  of  a  cause ;  prudent 
in  council,  skilful  in  strategy,  calm  and  cool  in  conflict. 

Behind  that  counter,  in  that  store,  or  perched  on  that 
office  desk,  is  he  who  has  done  so  many  brilliant  feats,  to 
the  wonder  of  the' foe,  and  the  rapture  of  his  friends. 

Rushing  headlong  through  the  street,  in  his  eagerness 


CSS 


THE  IIIISII  IN  AMKIirCA. 


•  i 
I 

,i 


;3 


^^ 


to  keep  some  nppointmcnt,,  in  which  fhero  ifl  to  be  much 
talk  of  bales  of  cotton,  va\y<;oq.h  of  corn,  or  hogsheads  oi' 
strong  Avino,  is  the  soldi(>r  whoN  movements  were  of 
li-htnin-  celerity,  who,  by  right  of  In's  lavished  blood,  had 
established  a  kind  of  vested  interest  in  every  desperate 
undertaking. 

And  here,  at  this  editor's  table,  with  ink,  and  paste,  and 
scissors  at  his  elbow,  up  to  his  eyes  in  'proofs,'  and  young 
'devils'  clamorous  for  'copy,'  you  have  a  dashing  colonel 
a  fortunate  general,  a  famous  artillery  officer— now  as 
trancpiilly  engaged  in  the  drudgery  of  his  'daily'  as  if  ho 
had  never  led  his  regiment  at  the  charge,  never  handled 
a  division  or  a  corps,  or  never  decided  a  victory  with  his 
guns;  as  if,  in  fact,  he  had  only  learned  of  war  in  the  pages 
of  Grecian  or  Eoman  history,  or  read  of  it  in  one  of  his 
European  'exchanges.' 

Hush!  yon  are  in  a  scat  of  learning,  in  which  the  hope- 
fiil  youth  of  a  great  country  is  being  trained  for  its  future 
citizenship.  You  perceive  that  quiet-looking  elderly  gen- 
tleman smiling  kindly  on  that  bright  eager  lad,  as  he 
speaks  to  him  with  gentle  voice.  That  quiet-looking  gen- 
tleman is  the  man  of  men,  whose  very  name  was  worth  an 
army  to  the  side  he  espoused.  Every  home  in  America, 
every  village  in  Europe,  has  heard  of  that  quiet-looking 
gentleman. 

And  look  again:  here  is  a  learned  professor  instructing 
his  class— not  at  all  a  wonderful  sight,  you  may  say;  but  on 
the  wide  ocean,  in  every  mart  of  commerce,  on  every  ex- 
change, in  every  nook  and  corner  in  which  the  risks  of  sea, 
enhanced  by  the  casualties  of  war,  are  keenly  calculated,' 
there  were  those  who  thought  by  day  and  dreamed  by 
night  of  that  learned  professor. 

Go  where  you  wiU,  in  field  or  mine,  in  workshop,  iu 
factory,  in  store,  in  counting  house,  in  hotel— at  either 
side  of  the  Huq — whether  on  land  or  watfir Av*ivxrwh«vp^ 


THE  GRANDF]ST  OF  ALL  SPECTACLES. 


588 


ifl  to  be  much 
hogsheads  of 
Jilts  wore  of 
Dd  blood,  had 
ory  dospcrato 

ad  paste,  and 
a,'  and  young 
ihing-  colonel, 
iccr — now  as 
ally'  as  if  ho 
ever  handled 
itory  with  his 
*  in  the  pages 
in  one  of  his 


you  behold,  now  absorl)ed  in  honest  toil  and  patient  in- 
dustry, the  men,  high  and  low,  of  every  rank  and  grade, 
and  of  every  nationality  too,  who,  a  few  months  hUw.o.,  wore 
engaged  in  desperate  strife!  This  spectacle,  wliicth  ilio 
Old  World  has  never  seen  surpassed,  is  more  wonderful 
than  Niagara,  more  majestic  than  the  Mississippi,  more 
siibhme  than  the  snow-clad  pinnacles  of  the  loftiest  of  the 
Sierras. 


ch  the  hope- 
for  its  future 

elderly  gen- 
r  lad,  as  he 
-looking  gen- 
ivas  worth  an 

in  America, 
c[uiet-looking 

•r  instructinsr 
'■  say;  but  on 
on  every  ex- 
risks  of  sea, 
y  calculated, 
dreamed  by 


vorkshop,  iu 
1 — at  either 
very  where  ^ 


wo 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•a 

'mm 

..1 

■«B 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Itlll^   t  /^c   ^"'''^  ^"  America   towards   Enfflan<l-A  F-ifd 
Mistake-Not  Scamps    and    Row<lies-Wl,o  tl  ey    -eillv  •ir^ 

TT  is  a  matter  of  more  importance  to  iinderstand  what  m 
±     tlie  iocil  fe^^linc.  entertained  by  the   Irish  in  Americ 
towards    England,    or   the    British   Government,    than    to 
ascert^un  the  nature  or  the  details  of  any  organisation  to 
winch  that  feehng  may  give  rise.     If  the  feeling  be  ephe- 
meral   or  factitious,  the  organisation,  however  formidable 
Its  aspect,  resembles  a- torrent  caused  by  a  summer  storm 
or  a  tree  with  wide  branches  yet  having  no  hold  in  the  soil.' 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  though  an  organisation  may  be 
ill-designed  or  even  ridiculous,  or,  on  account  of  the  folly 
or  violence,  or  treachery,  of  those  who  are  responsible  for 
Its  management,  may  come  to  a  speedy  dissolution,  if  it 
Have  Its  origm  in  an  earnest  and  enduring  feeling  it  is 
sigmhcant   of  danger-it  represents   more   than   is   seen- 
and  die  down  as  it  may,  it  is  sure  to  spring  up  again  in' 
some  new  form.     Here  the  abiding  life  is,  as  it  were,  in 
1 16  soil    whose  vital  energy  throws  these  its  creations  to 
the  surface.     The  question,  then,  should  rather  be,  rchat  i. 
the  feehng  in  which   an    organisation-^ onmm^m,    or   air. 
other  'ism'-/m.  it,  origin,  than  what  is  the  organisation 
whicli  springs  from  the  feehng?     With  the  special  organi- 
Bation,  much  less  with  its  details,  I  have  no  concern  what- 
ever;  while  with  the  feehng  I  cannot,  in  duty  or  in  honesty, 
rofuso  to  deal.  ^ 


A  FATAL  MISTAKE. 


591 


1(1— A  Fatal 
•oally  are— 
Igor— Down 
li  Feeling — 
and  Quiet 
rieviince  re- 
'lief  in  Fng- 
ions  to  i']ng- 
bltiliemetly. 

stand  what  is 
L  in  Americ 
mt,    than    to 
^•auisation  to 
^ng-  be  ej^hc- 
r  formidable 
nmcr  storm, 
d  in  the  soil, 
fcion  may  be 
of  the  folly, 
ponsible  for 
>lution,  if  it 
feeling,  it  is 
m  is  seen; 
up  again  in 
it  were,  in 
creations  to 
'  be,  ichat  /.s 
sni,    or   any 
)rganisati(^n 
3ial  or<.>-ani- 
icern  what- 
in  honesty, 


Of  the  leaders,  the  real  or  ostensible  leaders  of  the 
existing  organisjition  various  opinions  are  entertained  and 
freely  expressed ;  and  far  stronger  language  has  been  used 
by  different  sections  of  the  same  nominal  body  with  respect 
to  the  merits  or  demerits  of  rival  chiefs  than  has  been 
employed  by  the  most  indignant  and  out-spoken  Crown 
Prosecutor,  or  the  most  enthusiastic  advocate  of  British 
connection.  It  is  only  just,  however,  to  state,  that  against 
the  personal  character,  the  honour  and  integrity,  of  the 
present  most  prominent  member*  of  the  Fenian  organisa- 
tion I  have  never  heard  a  word.  Personal  ambition,  or 
a  desire  for  display,  may  have  been  urged  against  him  by 
those  who  did  not  agree  with  his  policy,  or  were  opposed 
to  the  movement ;  but  no  one,  not  even  a  partisan  of  a 
rival  leader,  accuses  him  of  dishonesty  or  of  treachery. 

There  cannot  be  a  more  fatal  mistake,  whether  fallen 
into  in  England  or  in  Ireland,  than  that  which  has  its 
origin  in  the  desire  to  make  light  of  the  feeling  existing 
among  the  Irish  in  America — namely,  of  depreciating  the 
position,  character,  and  motives  of  those  who  have  either 
joined  or  aided  the  present  movement,  or  who  sympathise 
with  its  objects,  whether  special  or  general.  It  has  been 
frequently  asserted  that  the  Fenian  organisation  embraces 
within  its  ranks  none  but  the  looser  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation— in  fact,  '  the  scum  of  the  great  cities,'  and  that  it 
depends  altogether  for  its  support  on  the  contributions 
extorted  from  day  labourers  and  servant-girls.  That  the 
organisation  embraces  many  young  men  of  loose  habits  or 
irregular  lives  must  of  necessity  be  the  case — it  must  be 
so  with  every  movement  or  organisation  of  a  similar  nature  ; 
yet,  though  such  supporters  of  an  organisation  may  not  be 
the  steadiest  supporters  of  the  community,  or  the  most 
remarkable  for  self-restraint,  they  bring  to  it  physical 
force,  courage,  and  a  reckless  desperation  which  no  obstacle 
can  daunt  or  deter.     Men  of  this   class,  however,  do  not 


♦  Mr.  RobertB. 


693 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


;1 
•I 

t 
m 


'J 

< 


cons fafcnte  its  strength  ;  they  certainly  .aro  not  its  g„iai„„ 
Bp.nts,  nor  do  thoy  form  more  than  a  section  »  per" 
cen*.ge  of  the  whole  body-they  are,  in  fact,  but  IIZ 

That  an  mdmdual  who  takes  the  lead  in  a  certain  locality 
may  be    actuated    by    the    lowest    motives-vanity      elf 
o  T  V",  f'  '""'  of  obtaining  influence  to  be  employ  d 
Zt^luT":  "'  P"^"""'  <"'i'^<='^-'«  probably  h^e 
tj^e  body,  meamng  thereby  the  thousands  or  the  tens  of 

vrrrthel:  T^^^'^^,  ^'--^th  of  tl.  organtLn 
e.en  m  the  locality  in  which   there  may  happen  to  be  a 
worthle,3  leader,  are  neither  'roughs'  nor  'rowdi  I'  1 

which   lieT^         ""  '"""P"'^''  ''"''"^'  •™'i  «"=*-""=  by 

-thai  T  w  >^r  ^'^  ^'  "'  impracticable  as  mischievous 
-that  t  would  rather  aggravate  and  intensify  the  evils 
waieh  they  desire  to  remedy  by  sweeping  revolution  4hs 

harteen^I^  /'         '  ""'  ^''""S?     Then,  so  far  as  I 

Fein,  f    ^  '"'™'  "^  ''^'^«*  ^^'  '^'^^  ^o^g  the 

Femans  in   almost  every  State  of  the  Union  there  are 

Indeed,   in  several  places  in  which  I  have  been  I  have 
earned,  on  unquestionable  authority-very  frequently  of 
those  who  regarded  Fenianism  with  positie  Xhke\n1 
Its  leaders  with  marked  mistrust-that  the  most  re;^" 
steady    and    self-respecting  of    the    Irish    youth    or  tt^ 

rfittgi'r-^^"^ ''  "^'^  ~^- '— ^"«^ 

the^rtrJr*''^ ™';  «'"'°"'  "''''°''-  ^^  "^o^*  i"»^trate 

ation  1ml  ?W    r      ^u™'  ''^°  ''^'  P'"''  '°  «"^  o^gaiii- 
sation,  and  the  feehng*  by  which  they  are  animated. 

J„^?f.!r.*,'°J^«  '"  '^"fi''"«  i°  "^  few  months  after  the 
f-m„u.  .aid  mio  ua^ada;  and  the  impression  produced  by 


NOT  SCAMPS  AND  ROWDIES. 


59t 


not  its  guiding 
section   or  per- 
ict,  but  a  mere 
!an  Fenianism. 
certain  locality 
5— vanity,    self- 
to  be  employed 
probably  true, 
the  case  ;   but 
)r  the  tens  of 
)  organisation, 
ippen  to  be  a 
'rowdies,'  nor 
the  feeliny  by 
it  is  unselfish, 
eir  immediate 
s  mischievous 
isify  the  evils 
olution,~this 
t  is  their  true 
n,  so  far  as  I 
t  among  the 
m  there  are 
h  population, 
been   I  have 
requeutly  of 
dishke,  and 
aost  regular, 
>uth,    or  the 
tistituted  its 

3st  illustrate 

this  orgaui- 

fited. 

lis  after  the 

)roduced  by 


whai   I  then  learned  was  not  weakened,  but  rather  con- 
firmed, by  every  day's  additional  experience  in  the  United 
States.     I  was  then  brought   into   contact   with  persons 
holding  the  most  opposite  opinions  as  to  the  character  of 
this  raid— those  who  condemned  or  those  who  applauded 
it;  but  from  the  very  persons  who  denounced  it,  as  wanton 
and  wicked,  I  received  as  strong  testimony  in  favour  of 
the  conduct  of  the  Fenians  who  took  part  in  it,  or  who  had 
come  to  take  part  in  it,  as  from  those  who  gloried  in  the 
attempt,  and  deplored  its  failure.     It  is  not  necessary  to 
repeat  the  oft-told  story  of  the  Canadian  raid,  or  the  part 
taken  by  the  American   Government,   under  the   solemn 
obligations  of  internaticnal  law,  to  ensure  its  defeat.     Not 
calculating  on  the  active  interference  of  the   authorities, 
an  immense  body  of  Fenians,  several  thousands  in  number,' 
concentrated  in   Buffalo,   with   the  intention   of    crossing 
the  frontier;  and  though  they  were  badly  provided,  if  not 
utterly  unprovided,  with  commissariat,  and  though,  not- 
withstanding the  generosity  or  the  efforts  of  their  Viends, 
they  had  to  subsist  on   the   simplest   and  even   scantiest 
fare ;  and  though  hundreds  of  these  young  men  were  to  be 
seen  lying  on  the  side-walks,  their  only  sleeping-places  at 
night  (it  was  in  the  midst  of  the  summer)— there  was  not 
committed  by  any  one  of  that  vast  body  during  the  time, 
fuUy  a  fortnight,  that  they  remained  in  that  large  and  popu- 
lous city,  a  single  offence  against  person,  or  property,  or 
decency,  or  pubhc  order !     This  fact,  so  creditable  to  the 
Irish  character,  was  admitted,  however  reluctantly,  by  the 
opponents  of  the  Fenians,  and  was  proudly  proclaimed  by 
their  sympathisers. 

In  this  raid,  or  ready  to  take  part  in  it,  were  men  of 
the  best  character  and  the  steadiest  conduct.  Instances 
were   numerous  of  those   who   had   abandoned  well-paid 

offices,  lucrative   situations,  and  valuable  appointments 

who  had  given  up  happy  h<>meB  and  quiet  eniovmcnts  to 
risk  hberty  and  life  in  this  expedition.     Fathers  were  not 


6H 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


.3 


,1 


3 


shan.0,1  from  j.H.nnff  i„  it  hy  fo.nily  ob%ation.s  •  an<] 
those  who  wore  boyon,!  the  period  of  active  service  r.lhor 
eucouvagea  than   checkocl  the   ar.lour  of  their  L"     A 

man,  whom  I  1  ad  tnown  many  years  before  in  Ireland 
^i...c..ung  ot  tiio  Canadian  raid,  in  the  iwo^ 

r;,,:;  'ttr'  """"'■'^" »'"'  °-  -  *-  ^^■^^ 

gio uped     .and  tli.  r,tove  at  the  far  e-ad  of  Jus  nbioe  J 

bn.,ne.s«  he  pointed  to  a  handsome  fresl,-eoI  ^  e  Won.  ! 

Uow  ot  twenty,  and  said_'TI,at  boy  joined  them  o^r 

he  way,  and  with  nry  fnU  consent.  His  mother  h'ewa 
ma  ternole  state  abont  him,  like  all  women  I  snm,oso 
»nd  w.»tod  not  to  let  him  ,o  on  any  aeeonnt ;  \ni  ST' 

1  saj  I  wd    8<>,  no  power  on  earth  wiU  stop  me."    It  was 
only  then  she  eonsented-she  will  tell  you  so  herself     h! 

thanl.  God !      A  deep,  heart-felt  ■  Amen ! '  was  the  moth"^ 
only  response,   as   she  earessed    the    soft    eheek  of    her 

iSo;  i:!"'"'  ^""'«  »* '-  ^-'  --'  «-'- 

ri:mU^/s:;'TiLTen::rri^^^^^^^^^  f  f 
:TtbaTiin;  °"^  ^^'T^-  °^ «-  «"-*^^^^ 

n^d  that  Ihad  no  speejal  cnnosity  to  see  one  on  that  oec,; 
mon  Ah,  said  he,  'but  he  was  one  of  the  raiders  into 
Canada,  and  was  seyerely  wounded.     This  case  may  be  i„- 

Xt't :  ""\  '"•  "1:  '■^"^°"-«"" ''  »«-'^  ^>'^^ 
o  dter  1  °'-nr""™'  ^™'''  ^"-^  '^■'°-' "  p"-i-  ■»« 

to  ai  as  infidels  and  eyerything  bad.     This  young  man,  who 


WHO  THEY  REALLY  ARE. 


605 


l>%ation,s;  and 
I  service  rather 
their   sons.      A 
Dcliiito  observa- 
■   a  res])ectable 
n-e  in  Ireland, 
been    strongly 
I,  in  tlie  i)res- 
;wo  friends,  all 
f  bis  25lacc  of 
oloured  young 
led  tlicm  over 
iber  there  was 
3n,  I  suppose, 
;  but  I  said  to 
place ;  and  if 
me."    It  was 
►  herself.     He 
ther  and  me, 
3  the  mother's 
;heek   of    her 
sted  its  head 

lo,  which  was 

rs,  when  the 

ked  me   if  I 

L  that  I  had 

Bnian  before, 

)n  that  occii- 

raiders  into 

3  may  be  iii- 

^•ds  the  best 

down  a  so- 

puzzles  ]iio 

who  belong 

ig  man,  who 


was  wounded  at  Limestone  Ridge,  is,  to  my  personal 
knowledge,  one  of  the  best-conducted  men  in  this  city. 
•  He  wan  and  is  a  monthly  communicant,  and,  I  can  answer 
for  it,  he  is  exemplfiry  in  every  relation  of  life.  He  is, 
besides,  a  man  of  superior  intelligence.  Now  I  am,  if 
anything,  an  anti-Fenian  ;  yet  I  tell  you  it  is  absurd  to 
.suppose  that  the  organisation  is  what  it  has  been  described 
by  your  Enghsh  newspaper  correspondents.'  The  appear- 
ance, manner,  and  bearing  of  the  wounded  man,  who  was 
sitting  on  the  side  of  his  bed,  and  who  laid  down  a  prayer- 
book  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  visitor  approaching,  evidently 
justified  the  description  given  of  him  by  my  compani(jn. 

A  distinguished  Irish  clergyman  of  the  Cathohc  diocese 
of  Cincinnati,  who  publicly  and  privately  discouraged  the 
movement,  remarked  to  me  :— '  It  is  idle  to  say  that  this 
feeling— call  it  infatuation  if  you  like — has  not  a  strong 
hold  on  our  Irish  population,  or  that  the  organisation  does 
not  embrace  within  it  many  men  of  the  best  character  and 
the  purest  motives.  I  have  every  day  ample  experience 
(5f  the  fact  that  this  is  so.  I  will  give  you  a  case  in  point. 
I  was  sitting  at  this  desk  one  evening,  busily  writing,  when 
a  visitor  was  announced.  He  was  a  penitent  of  my  own, 
and  I  assure  you  I  was  very  proud  of  him,  for  there  could 
not  be  a  more  respectable  young  man,  or  one  who  was  in 
every  way  better  conducted.  He  was  likewise  singularly 
thoughtful  and  inteUigent,  and  held  an  excellent  position. 
"  Father,"  he  said,  "  I  want  you  to  do  me  a  great  favour." 
I  told  him,  what  was  quite  true,  that  I  should  be  happy  to 
do  anything  in  my  power  t^  oblige  or  serve  him.  "Well, 
Father,"  said  he,  "  I  want  you  to  take  charge  -of  this  little 
parcel  for  me— it  contains  $G00.  I  am  going  at  once  on  a 
very  important  journey,  on  which  much  depends.  I  am 
not  at  present  at  liberty  to  say  anything  more,  but  you 
shall  soon  know  all  about  it ;  but  if  you  don't  hear  of  me 
in  six  months,  send  this  money  to  my  parents  in  Ireland, 
with  this  letter."     I  received  the  money  and  the  letter  from 


fi98 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


•  i 
J 


3 

? 

^ 


him,  and  promised  strict  ooniplijmco  with  his  roquefi.  1 
did  not  prosH  liim  as  to  tlio  nature  of  his  journey,  for  ho 
was  studiously  reserved  on  that  point ;  and  wlien  he  took 
leave,  it  was  with  a  disjilay  of  emotion  not  very  common 
M'ith  him,  for  he  was  almost  invarial)ly  cool  and  colle(;ted 
in  manner.  In  less  than  ten  days  after  we  parted  at  that 
door,  I  was  'shocked  to  read  in  the  morninj^  paper  the 
account  of  his  death, — he  was  one  of  the  raiders,  and  he 
was  killed  in  the  fio-ht  at  Fort  Erie.' 

From  the  Southern  States — Alabama,  Louisiana,  the 
Carolinas,  Florida,  Texas — young  men  had  come  up  to  the 
extreme  North  on  this  expedition  ;  and  had  it  been  even 
momentarily  successful,  or  had  there  been  the  least  con- 
nivance with  the  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States, — had,  in  fact,  those  who  first  crossed 
the  frontier  but  the  opportunity  of  making  a  stand,  and 
holding  their  own  even  for  c  few  days,  vast  numbers 
would  have  flocked  to  the  g:'een  standard  from  every 
State  in  the  Union.  That  Southern  men,  or  Confederates, 
should  take  any  active  part  in  the  movement  w^as  extra- 
ordinary, considering  the  feeling  of  exasperation  that  still 
lingered  in  the  Southern  mind,  the  result  of  the  late  war. 
This  feeling  was  quite  as  strongly  felt  by  Irishmen  in  the 
Confederacy  as  by  Americans  ;  and  though  there  was,  of 
necessity,  a  sj'mpathy  between  Irishmen  at  both  sides  of 
the  line,  still  there  was  a  lurking  sentiment  of  irritation 
not  a  little  aggravated  by  the  policy  of  the  extreme  Eadical 
party,  as  proclaimed  through  their  press,  and  sought  to  bo 
enforced  by  legislation.  An  incident,  which  reached  me 
through  more  than  one  source,  will  indicate,  better  than  any 
description,  the  feeling  of  the  Irish  in  the  South  as  to  the 
part  taken  by  their  compatriots  of  the  North  in  the  war. 

While  the  contending  armies  lay  in  front  of  each  other 


in    the   neighbourhood   of    Chattanooga,    a 


flag 


of  truce 


brought  together 


several   distinguished    officers   on   both 


^o 


sides ;     amongst    them,    General    Cleburne    and  General 


SYMPATHY  CONQUERING  IRRITATION. 


697 


lis  roqnef  t.  t 
jonrney,  for  ho 
when  he  took 
■very  common 
i  and  collected 
parted  at  that 
mg  paper  the 
aiders,  and  he 

Jonisiana,  the 
3ome  np  to  the 
1  it  been  even 

the  least  con- 
ic Government 
lo  first  crossed 
J  a  stand,  and 
vast  numbers 
'd  from   every 

Confederates, 
ant  was  extra- 
ition  that  still 
'  the  late  war. 
ishmen  in  the 

there  was,  of 

both  sides  of 
it  of  irritation 
itreme  Eadical 
i  sought  to  bo 
li  reached  me 
ctter  than  any 
:)uth  as  to  the 

in  the  war. 
of  each  other 

flag  of  trace 
Lcers   on   both 

and  General 


Sweeney— the  former  fittingly  representing  the  g;dlantry  of 
the  Southern  Irish,  the  latter  as  fittingly  represenling  the 
gallantry  of  the  Northern  Irish.  Friendly  greetings  and 
compliments  were  interchanged;  flasks  were  emptied,  and 
healths  were  drunk  with  great  cordiahty  Ijy  those  who  in 
a  few  hours  aft(!r  were  to  meet  in  deadly  strife.  On  that, 
occasion  General  Sweeney,  addnvssing  himself  to  General 
Cleburne,  expressed  his  regret  that  his  countrymen  should 
be  found  oi)posed  to  each  other,  and  fighting  on  both  sides 
during  the  war ;  but  he  hoped  the  time  wcnild  come  when 
they  would  all  be  found  united,  and  standing  side  by  side 
in  the  efiort  to  recover  the  independence  of  their  native 
land.  To  this  Cleburne  replied,  that  to  assist  in  destroying 
the  independence  of  one  people  was  rjither  a  poor  prepa- 
ration for  the  work  of  restoring  the  independence  of 
another.  , 

This  lingering  feeling  of  irritatioji  is,  however,  rapidly 
passing  away,  owing  in  a  great  measure  not  only  to  the 
generous  bearing  of  the  Federal  Irish  while  as  combatants 
or  conquerors  in  the  South,  but  to  the  policy  generally 
held  by  the  Irish  in  the  Northern  States  as  to  the  re-ad- 
mission  of  the  seceding  States  into  the  Union.  But,  were 
that  sentiment  of  irritation  stronger  than  it  is,  it  would 
be  absorbed  by  one  far  stronger  and  more  intense—  '  hatred 
of  the  common  enemy,  love  of  the  common  country.'  I 
had  rather  a  strange  exhibition  of  the  intensity  of  this  feel- 
ing in  a  city  in  Alabama. 

From  this  city,  in  which  there  is  a  ^onsiderr.ble  Irish 
population,  there  had  gone  forth,  besides  other  Irish  organ- 
isations, several  companies,  all  of  which  distinguished  them- 
selves by  the  most  extraordinary  daring  and  intrepidity. 
In  the  very  thickest  of  the  deadliest  struggle  these  men 
fought  with  a  desperation  that  elicited  universal  admi- 
ration. One  of  these  companies  lost  four  out  of  every 
five ;  either  they  were  killed  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  they 
died  in  the  hospital  of  their  wounds.     Of  130  men  who 


698 


THE  lUISII  IN  AMERICA. 


I 

■M 
« 

.A 

1 

3 
*) 

< 


from  time  to  timo  joined  that  company,  but  20  survived ; 
and  that  f,^allant  remnant  of  that  heroic  band  limped  back 
to  their  homes,  riddled  with  shot  and  shell,  and  Inuiked 
by  steel— cripples  for  life.     Those  who  commanded  these 
heroic  men  were  in  every  way  wortliy  of  those  they  com- 
manded.    Three   times  this   company  lost  its   captain   in 
front  of  the  enemy;  and  the  successor  to  their  honours 
and    responsibilities— an    Irishman    from   Waterford— the 
fourth  who  led  it  into  battle— bears  on  his  person  terrible 
evidences  of   the  work  in   which  he  had  been   engaged. 
He   caUcd   on   mo    at    my   hotel;    and    the    conversation 
turning  on  the  late   civil  war,  he   informed  me  of  many 
interesting  particulars  with  respect  to  the  part  taken  in  it 
by  Irishmen  at  both  sides.     I  happened  to  express  a  hope 
that  his  many  wounds,  of  which  I  had  heard  so  much  from 
others,  did  not  cause  him  pain  or  inconvenience,  and  my 
surprise   that  he  survived  such  grievous  injuries  in  vital 
parts ;   when,  rather  unexpectedly,  he  said,   '  I  would  like 
to  show  you  my  wounds,  if  you  have  no  objection  ;  you  can 
then  see  what  narrow  escapes   I  had.'     I   replied   that  I 
could  have  no  objection  whatever  to  behold  the  marks  of 
a  brave  man's  valour ;  on  which,  though  not  without  some 
difficulty,  owing  to  the  helpless  condition  of  one  arm,  ho 
stripped   to   the   waist.     And,   poor  fellow,   he   had   been 
riddled  and  torn  indeed.     He  had  been  shot  through  the 
neck,  the  ball  entering  at  one  side,  and  going  out  at  the 
other.      Within  an  inch  or  two  of  his  spine  was  a  great 
mark  where  a  rifle  bullet  had  torn  through  ;  that  bullet, 
turned  by  one  of  those  strange  eccentric  motions  which 
bullets  occasionally  take,  passed  out  through  his  side,  and 
shattered  his  arm.     A   third  had  more   than   grazed   the 
lower  stomach— it  had  literally  passed  through,  leaving  its 
mark  of  entrance  and  departure.     Then  there  were  scars 
of  minor  importance,    still   eloquent   mementos   of    iierco 
fights  in  which  he  and  his  noble  Irish  'Guard 'had  taken 
BO  conspicuous  a  part.     One  arm,  as  I  have  mentioned.  hun<' 


INDIFFEllENOIi:  TO  DANGER. 


.199 


it  20  survived ; 
1(1  linipod  buck 
ill,   luid  lifurlcod 
iiiriaiidod  tlieso 
Jioso  tlioy  coin- 
its   caiitain   in 
their  honours 
Waterford — the 
person  terribk) 
been   engaged. 
3    conversation 
[i  me  of  many 
)art  taken  in  it 
express  a  hope 
I  so  much  from 
ionce,  and  my 
ijuries  in  vital 
'I  would  like 
ction  ;  you  can 
replied   that  I 
the  marks  of 
.  without  some 
)f  one  arm,  he 
ho   had   been 
't  through  the 
Ing  out  at  the 
e  was  a  great 
1 ;  that  bullet, 
notions  which 
I  his  side,  and 
m   grazed   th(3 
igh,  leaving  its 
3re  were  scars 
itos   of    liereo 
rd '  had  taken 
3ntioned,  hung 


helpless  by  his  side  ;  but  I  well  remember  how  his  eyoe 
sparkled,  and  his  face  became  sufl'used  with  enthusiasm, 
as,  suddenly  Hinging  aloft  his  other  arm,  lean  and  sinewy, 
ho  exclaimed  in  a  voice  of  concentrated  passion — '  This  is 
the  only  arm  I  have  left,  and,  so  help  me  God !  I'd  give  it 
and  every  drop  of  my  heart's  blood,  if  I  could  only  strike 
one  blow  for  Irehmd!  I'd  be  satisfied  to  die  of  my  wounds 
then,  for  I'd  die  happy  in  her  cause.' 

I  have  heard  declarations  as  ardent  from  Irishmen  in 
other  parts  of  the  South — by  men  who  had  borne  them- 
selves brav(!ly  during  the  war ;  and  though  many  of  them 
declared  their  mistrust  of  certain  of  the  Fenian  leaders,  and 
even  a  dislike  to  the  movement  itself,  still  all  expressed 
themselves  in  this  fashion,  '  If  I  could  see  my  way  clearly— 
if  I  could  only  trust  the  men  in  New  York — if  I  thought  I 
could  do  Ireland  any  good,  or  give  her  a  chance,  I  would 
go  in  for  it  at  every  risk.'  Others  boasted  that  they  wero 
members  of  the  organisation — that  they  were  ready,  at  any 
moment,  to  unsheathe  the  sword  again — that  they  did  not 
care  who  or  what  the  leaders  were  ;  they  were  for  any 
organisation  that  kept  alive  the  national  feeling,  and  2)re- 
pared  Irishmen  to  avail  themselves  of  the  first  opiior.'unity 
for  a  practical  movement  in  her  favour. 

So  startling  and  extraordinary  were  the  events  in  wliich 
these  men — Northerns  and  Southerns — were  actors,  that 
revolution  had  become  a  familiar  idea  to  their  minds  ;  and 
such  were  the  privations  and  hardshi2)s  they  had  endured, 
such  the  sacrifices  they  had  made,  such  the  dangers  they 
had  gone  through  almost  daily  during  a  protracted  war, 
in  sustainment  of  the  cause  to  which  they  had  been 
devoted  on  either  side,  that  the  risk  of  Hfe  in  the  attain- 
ment of  a  great  object,  or  in  furtherance  of  a  cherished 
purpose,  is  regarded  by  them  as  a  light  matter,  if,  indeed,  it 
is  regarded  by  them  at  all.  They  have  been  too  familiar 
with  Death — have  looked  the  King  of  Terrors  too  manv 
times  in  the  face — not  to  contemplate  the  possible  loss  of 


I 


600 


TOR  IRFSII  IN  AMERICA. 


1 

1 

"I 


life  with  tho  utmoHt  iudifToi'onco ;  added  to  wliich,  Buch  is 
th(f  ontlniHi.'i.sm  by  wliich  th(^y  arc  aniiuaiod— an  oiitlmsiaHwi 
at  oiKio  fioroo  and  (ixultcd,  Hi)ringiii^'  from  tho  iwo-fold 
passion  of  lovo  and  hato,  dovotion  and  rcvonj,'o--fchat  it 
renders  tho  i(h>a  of  tho  saoritieo  of  lifo  olovatin^^  a»id  oa- 
iiobling  rathor  than  diaconra'j^in'jf  or  i-epollin^. 

Down  in   tho  dopths  of  a  niino  hi  Illinois,  tho  workers 
in  which  wore  Irish  to  a  man,  I  fonnd  tho  same  foolinij  of 
passionato  love,  tho  same  foolinj,'  of  passionate  hate.     It 
was  a   stran^^o  scone,  and  not  without  its  attraction.     In 
one  of  the  central  passages  of  tho  mine,  nc*  T'oro  than  five 
feet  in   hei^rht,  its  prevaihnj?  murkiness  piurcod  here  and 
there  by  tho   red   hght   of  a  small  lamp,  was  a  truck,  in 
which  were  four  men — two  recumbent,  as  if  on  a  couch ;  tho 
other  two  sittin-if  one  on  each  side  of  that  mort  uncomfort- 
able carriage.     Tho  group  consisted  of  the  two  visitors— 
n)vsclf  and  a  substantinl  friend,  who  did  not  much  admiro 
the  dark  shadows,  the  low  ceiling,  and  tho  strange  sounds 
of   this   und(;rground   world  ;     together   with   one   of  tho 
*  bosses,'  and  a  remarkably  intelligent   and  younger  man. 
The  miners  had  each  their  lamp  fastened  in  front  of  their 
caps,  while  the  visitors  held  theirs  in  their  hands.     Tho  gal- 
loping mule  had  been  arrested  in  his  course  by  a  stoppage 
occasioned  by  something   ahead;   and   for   a  considerable 
time— it  seemed  an  age  to  my  stout  friend  by  my  side- 
conversation  was  the  only  resource  of  tho  party  of  four. 
In   a   company  consisting   of  four  Irishmen,    it  would  bo 
strange  if  the  conversation   did  not   fall  on  Irish  affairs, 
especially  at  a  timo  when  the  State-trials  in  Canada  were 
tlien   going   on.      My   excellent    friend,  who   shared   with 
me  the  couch  of  straw,  though  an  ardent  Irishman,  thought 
only  of  how  soon  ho  should  get  out  of  the  mine,  and  up 
into  the  bright  world  above  ;   and  for  the  moment  the  Irish 
Question  lost  all  attraction  for  his  ears.     I  must  confess  to 
having  taken  the  'legal  and  constitutional,  side  in  the  argu- 
ment wliich  sprang  up  ;   bnt  it  found  little  fj^vour  either 


UOWN  IN  THE  MINE. 


601 


which,  Biioh  is 
-an  (nithiiHiiiH.ui 
m  tho  iwo-fold 
ivouf^o — that  it 
vatiujf  and  ca- 

is,  the  workers 
mine  feoHiii^  of 
3iiato  hate.  It 
attraction.     In 

T»oro  than  five 
jrcod  hero  and 
vas  a  truck,  in 
)n  a  couch ;  tho 
Lort  uncomfort- 

tvvo  visitors — 
•t  much  admire 
strange  wounds 
Ai  one  of  tho 
younger  man. 
L  front  of  their 
nds.     Tho  gal- 

by  a  stoppage 
a  considerable 

by  my  side — 
party  of  four. 
I,  it  would  bo 
1  Irish  affairs, 
Canada  were 
)  shared  with 
liman,  thought 

mine,  and  up 
ment  the  Irish 
aust  confess  to 
le  in  the  argu- 

fj'Your  either 


with  the  fiLM'y  yonngfu*  man,  or  with  the  morti  sedato 
boss.'  Only  through  courtoHy,  and  that  not  a  little 
Ktrai>5ed  either,  would  they  tohn'ato  tho  mention  of  modera- 
tion, or  oven  admit  that  an  Irishman  could  love  his  country 
Bincofoly,  and  even  ardently,  and  yet  oppose  those 
who  should  secik  to  biing  ab(»Mt  chang<'S  by  vioh'nco 
and  bloodshed.  Ami  as  I  reclin(Ml  in  my  triumphal  car,  I 
was  harangued  in  fiery  accents  by  the  younger  miner,  on 
'the  wrongs  of  In^land,  and  the  ini([uiti(!S  .)f  tlui  British 
Government.'  He  had  the  liistory  of  the  Union  and 
the  story  of  the  Irish  llebollion  by  heart ;  and  as  he  re- 
ferred to  some  thrilling  event,  or  mentioned  some  famous 
name,  there  was  a  deep  murmur  of  satisfaction  from  the 
*  boss,'  whose  '  Thrue  for  you,  boy ! '  seemed  to  impart  an 
additional  swing  to  the  oratory  of  his  companion.  They 
would  not  believe  in  tho  naval  or  military  power  of  Eng- 
land— that,  according  to  them,  as  to  most  others  whom  I 
subsequently  met,  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  '  And,  after  all, 
what  was  it  to  tho  power  of  America  ? — where  were  armies 
like  hers  ? — where  iron  -clads,  and  monitors,  and  turret- 
ships,  such  as  she  could  turn  out  at  a  moment's  notice, 
as  she  did  during  the  llebollion  ?  No ;  England  was  to 
go  down,  and  Ireland  was,  under  Providence,  to  be  the 
instrument  of  her  ruin.'  Some  of  the  miners  had  gone 
before,  and  others  would  go  again,  when  the  occasion  arose, 
to  strike  a  blow  at  '  the  ojjpressor  of  their  country  ; '  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  man  in  the  mine  who  did  not  joj'fuUy 
subscribe  to  the  Fenian  fund,  and  would  not  continue  to  do 
so ;  for  though  they  might  not  succeed  one  time,  they 
would  another.  Tho  *  boss'  bad  not  much  to  say,  but  that 
was  to  the  point.  '  He  didn't  care  about  the  money — he 
could  spare  that ;  but  lie'd  give  his  life  if  necessary,  and 
gladly  too,  for  the  country  that  he  was  ever  thinking  of, 
and  that  was  dear  to  his  heart.'  And  the  'boss'  looked 
to  be  an  earnest  man,  who  said  what  he  meant,  and  ^vould 

do  what  ho  said.     The  young  man  made  a  boast  of  a  fact 

it6 


602 


THE  IIIISII  IN  AMERICA. 


'I 

-«« 

1 
3 


< 


of  which  h(3  iniahfc  woll  bo  proucl-that,    althcu-li  thoro 
were  between  200  und    IJOO  Irishmen  in  the  niin(>,   th(>ro 
were  not  .six  drunkards  anion-  the  entire  number      TJi(>y 
were  hard-workino-,  luborious,  and  zealouH,  proud  of  tlio 
success  of  the  niin<s   and  not  less  so  of  tlieir  own  well- 
earned  reputation  for  .sobriety  and  honesty.     True    these 
^vore  Inimble  toilers  ;  but  they  were  the  very  opposite  of 
the  scamps  and  rowdies  who  are  supposed  to  constitute  the 
strenfjth  of  the  anti-Enjvli„li  organisation  in  America.     Nor 
Iiad  they  the  remotest  intention  or  hope  of  over  deriviuL^ 
any  personal  advantao-e  from  the  sacrifices  they  made  or 
were  prepared  to    n.ake,  for    Hlie  cause; '-love  of  tlieir 
native  land,  and  they  desire  to  see  her  'happy  and  inde- 
pendent     were  all-sullicient  motives  with  them 

According  to  a  system  of  logic,  with  the  force  and  justice 
of  which  they  are  thoroughly  satisfied,  certain  classes  of 
he  Irish  111  America-indeed,  the  majority  of  them-hold 
tlio    Jiritish  Government  resi,onsible   for  all  the  evils  of 
Ireland  ;  and  at  the  door  of  Government  and  Parliament 
are   also   laid   the  responsibihty   of  the   wrongs   done  by 
individmils  with  the  sanction  of  the  law,  and  the  passive 
assent  of  the  legislature.     After  all,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  Irishmen  in  America  should  adopt  the  logic  of  En- 
lishmen   in  Parliament.      If  a  people  are  discontented,  me 
fault  must  lie  tcith  those  who  govern  them /has  been  more 
than  once  heard   of  late  years  in   the   British  House   of 
Commons  ;  and  though  the  axiom  may  have  been  applied 
.0  a  foreign  people  and  a  foreign  government,  an  Irishman 
might  be  excused  for  holding  it  of  equal  force  when  applied 
:iearer  home.     I  can  answer  for  it,  that  in  this  rough  and 
■^cady  manner  even  the  humblest  men  instinctively  reason, 
in  lact,  the  logic  is  there  ready  for  their  use. 

Visiting  a  farm-house  in  a  Western  State,  I  found  the 
owner,  a  man  verging  on  sixty,  in  the  midst  of  his  family 
>uins  and  daughters,  Hue  specimens  of  the  Irish  race,  with 
-he  glow  of  health  -on  their  cheeks,  and  vigour  and  life  in 


ONE  OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  ANTI-ENGLISH  FEELING.      C03 


nltlionn^li  thoro 
Am  ijiiiio,  tlu3ro 
number.  TJioy 
I,  proud  of  tlio 
^lioir  own  wcll- 
y.  Truo,  iheso 
3ry  oi)i)OHit(3  of 
3  constitute  tlio 
Amorica.  Nor 
f  over  deriving 

they  made,  or 
— lovo  of  tlieir 
ippy  and  inde- 
sm. 

rco  and  justice 
tain  classes  of 
of  them— hold 
1  the  evils  of 
id  Parliament 
3ngs  done  by 
d  the  i^assive 
3  bo  wondered 

logic  of  Eug- 
scontcnted,  the 
as  been  more 
ish  House  of 

been  applied 
;,  an  Irishman 
when  ajjplicd 
lis  rough  and 
itively  reason. 

,  I  found  the 
)f  his  family, 
ish  race,  with 
V  and  life  in 


every  movement.  A  quarter  of  a  century  bfsfore,  the 
owner  of  that  house  and  farm  was  evicted  under  circimi- 
stances  of  si.igularly  painful  severity,— his  (!ottiig(j  hiid 
been  assaikul  by  the  '  (tvowbar  brigade,'  and  he  and  his  wile 
had  barely  time  to  snatch  tlnur  children  from  the  crash- 
ing ruin  of  what  had  been  their  home  ;  and  in  his  heart 
he  cherished  a  feeling  of  hatred  and  vengeance,  not  so 
much  against  the  individual  by  whom  the  wrong  was 
perpetrated,  as  against  the  Government  by  which  it  was 
sanctioned,  and  under  whoso  authority  it  was  inllicted. 
He  had  not  the  least  objeetion  lo  tell  of  his  diihculties  in 
the  new  country,  for  he  had  every  reason  to  be  proud  of 
his  sturdy  energy,  and  his  hard  struggl(%s  for  the  iii-st  few 
years;  but,  whatever  the  subject  of  wliieh  he  spoke,  he 
would  invariably  contrive  to  wander  back  to  the  mem(jral)]e 
day  of  his  eviction,  when,  i)»s  he  said,  'he  and  his  were 
turned  out  Hkc  dogs — worse  than  dogs — on  the  road-side.' 
'See,  sir!  he  exclaimed,  'I  tell  you  what  it  is,  and  you 
may  believe  fno  when  I  say  it,  though  I  love  the  old 
country — and  God  knows  I  do  that  same— I  would  not 
take  a  present  of  200  acres  of  the  finest  land  in  my  own 
county,  and  have  to  live  under  the  British  Governm(!nt.' 
'  Not  if  the  British  Government  had  anything  to  do  with 
it,  I  sui^pose,'  said  the  wife,  as  if  exi)laining  her  husl)and's 
assertit)n,  which  she  s(!cmed  to  regard  as  reasonaljle  and 
natural.  'I'll  never  forgivfi  that  Government  the  longest 
day  I  live.'  '  Why  then,  indeed,  Daniel,  it's  time  to  for- 
give them  and  everybody  now,'  put  in  the  wife,  '  for  sure, 
if  that  same  didn't  happen,  you  would  not  be  here  this 
blessed  day,  with  your  400  acres  of  fine  land,  and  plenty 
for  all  of  us,  and  the  schooling  for  the  children,  and  no 
one  to  say  "  boo "  to  us,  and  all  our  own !  May  the  Lord 
make  us  thankful  for  his  mercies!'  'Well,  Mary,  no 
thanks  to  the  British  Government  for  that,— 'twasn't 
for  my  good  the  blackguards  done  it— and  if  you  and  the 
children  didn't  perish  that  day,  'twas  the  Lord's  will,  not 


604 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


theirs.'     'Why  then,  Daniel,  I  can't  say  again  that '--ajid 
the  wife  gave  in.     The  sons,  one  of  whom  had  fought  for 
the  Union,  synii^athised  more  with  the  vengeful  feeling  of 
.  their  father  than  with  the  Christian  si)irit  of  their  mother. 

A  similar  instance  of  this  holding  the  British  Govern- 
ment   responsible   for   an    act   of    individual    cruelty   was 
related  to  me  by  an  eminent  Irisli  ecclesiastic  in   one  of 
the  Eastern  States.     In  the  course  of  his  peiiodical  visi- 
tation   he    became    acquainted    with    a    respectable    and 
thriving  Irisli  farmer,  who  appeared  to  be  in  great  comfort, 
his  land  in  line  condition,  and  his  stock  of  cattle  of  a  good 
description  and  abundant.     This  man  was  always  glad  to 
see  the  priest  coming  round,  and  thought  '  he  could  never 
make  enough  of  him.'      A  widower  with  several  children, 
liis  house   was    managed   by   his   wife's    sister,    who   had 
altogether  devoted  herself  to  their  welfare.     He  was  a  man 
of  abstemious  habits,  regular  life,  and  inclined  to  reserve, 
as  if,  as  the  clergyman  said,  there  was  some  hind  of  cloud 
always  over  his  mind.     Nothing  could  exceed  his  care  in 
the  religious  training  of  his  young  people,  in  which  task  he 
was  well  seconded  by  their  excellent  aunt.      But  there  was 
this  singularity  about  him,— that,  whatever  his  desire  to 
have  his  family  grow  up  in  the  practice  of  their  faith,  he 
never  would  go  to  confession.     The  priest,  as  was  his  duty, 
spoke  to  him  more  than  once  on  the  subject ;  but  he  was 
answered  evasively,  and  put  off  on  one  plea  or  another. 
At  length,  determmed  to  push  the  matter  home,  he  said 
to   him— 'Now   I  must   speak  to  you  seriously,   and   you 
must  hsten  to  me  as  your  pastor,  who  is  answerable  before 
God  for  the  welfare  of  his  flock.     Your  children  are  now 
growmg  up  about  you,  and  they  will  be  men  and  women 
in  a  short  time,  and  you  should  show  them  an  example  in 
your  own  person  of  a  Catholic  father.      You  are  aware  how 
important  it  is  that  they  should  be  strong  in  their  faith 
bciore   tliey   become   men  and   women,    and  go   into   the 
world,   where    they   will  no   longer    be    subject    to  your 


MORE  OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  BAD  FEELING. 


605 


ain  that* — ajid 
had  fought  for 
g-eful  foohn^-  of 
their  mother. 
British  Govern- 
il  cruelty  was 
siic  ill  one  of 
l)eriodical  visi- 
spectable    and 

great  comfort, 
attle  of  a  good 
ilwajs  glad  to 
lie  could  never 
!veral  children, 
iter,  who  had 
He  was  a  man 
led  to  reserve, 

hind  of  cloud 
ed  his  care  in 

which  task  he 
But  there  was 

his  desire  to 
their  faith,  he 
I  was  his  duty, 
^t ;  but  he  was 
ia  or  another, 
lome,  he  said 
isly,  and  you 
verable  before 
dren  are  now 
n  and  women 
m  example  iu 
ire  aware  how 

in  their  faith 
,  go  into  tlie 
3Ject    to  your 


control,  or  that  of  their  good  pious  aunt ;  but  if  you  don't 
yourself  set  them  the  example,  how  can  you  expect  they 
will   always  continue  as  they  now  are — devoted  to   their 
religion  ?     Tell  me,  then,  why  won't  you  go  to  your  duty 
here — where    God  has  prospered  your  industry — as  you 
did  in  the  old  country  in  former  times?'     'Well,  Father,' 
he  replied,   *  I  tell  you  what  it  is — I  can't  go ;  that's  the 
truth  of  it,  and  for  a  good  reason  too.     I  know  my  religion 
weU  enough  to  tell  me  I  must  forgive  my  enemies,  or  I 
can't  get   absolution — that  I  know  sure   enough,  for  my 
mother  wasn't   without  telling  me  as  much,  and  I  never 
forgot  it,  and  'tis  always  before  me,  sleeping  and  waking. 
Then,  as  you  must  know  the  truth  of  it — and  'tis  the  blessed 
truth  I'm  telling  you— I  can't  and  I  won't  forgive  them — 
I  never  can,  and  what's  more,  I  never  wall,  to  my  dying  day. 
Father,  that's  just  the  whole  of  it.'     '  Nonsense,  man,'  said 
the  priest,  '  that's  not  the  language  of  a  Christian — an  infi- 
del might  speak  to  me  in  that  manner.     Why,  the  Redeem- 
er, who  saved  you  and  yours  by  His  blood,  forgave  His  ene- 
mies— and  you,  a  Cliristian  man  !  brought  up  in  a  Catholic 
country,  to  talk  of  not  forgiving  your  enemies  ! '     '  True 
for  you.  Father — all  true — true  as  the  Gospel — I  knov/  it ; 
but  still  there's  something  in  me  that  I   can't   g^'t   over. 
I  told  your  reverence  I  was  turned  out  of  my  land,  where 
my  father  and  his  people  before  him  lived,  I  don't  know 
how  long.     Well,  sure  enough,  that  same  has  been  many 
a  bette--  ii  an's  case,  and  more's  the  pity.     But  that  Avasn't 
it,  but  the  way  'twas  done.     Tnere  didn't  come  out  of  the 
heavens  a  bitterer  mornings  when  the  sheriff  was  at  my 
door  with  the  crowbar  men,  and  a  powder  of  peelers,  and 
the  army  too,  as  if  'twas  going  to  war  they  were,  instead 
of  coming  to  drive  an  honest  man    and  his  family  from 
house  and  home.      My  poor  ould  father  was  at  his  last 
with  rheumatics,  and  the  doctor  said  'twas  coming  to  his 
heart — and  my  wife  too,  saving  your  reverence's  presence, 
was  big  with  child.     'Tvvas  a  bad  time,  God  knows,  for  us 


!;r 


i 

1 


} 


•■■>» 
■I 


3 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 

to  be  put  01        I  asked  the  ao-ent,  who  was  there,  for  a 
week,  to  see  and  get  a  place ;  but  I  couldn't  get  a  day- 
no  not  an  hour;  he  said  the  law  should  take  its  coorse 
and  It  dul  take  its  coorse,  and  a  bad  wicked  coorse  it  was 
Mj  mother-she  did  it.  Father,  before  I  could  stop  her- 
knelt  down  to  him  in  her  grey  hairs;  but  'twas  no  good- 
you  might  as  well  talk  to  that  stone  there.     I  told  them 
the  state  of  my  poor  ould  father-that  was  no  use  either  • 
out  we  should  go  into  the  bitter  could,  and  not  as  much  as 
a  place  to  put  our  heads !     There  were  others  as  bad  as 
ourselves,   for   the    whole    townland   was    'under   notice' 
1  cant  tell  you  all  that  happened  that  morning,  or  that 
niglit-I  was   like  a   man  out  of  his  rayson,  that   didn't 
know  what  he  was  about,  or  what  was  happening  to  him. 
13ut  this  I  know  well  enough-that  my  ould  father  was 
taken  out  on  the  bed  he  lay  on,  and  he  died  that  night  in 
thegripo  of  the  ditch,  under  the  shelter  we  made  fo!- him 
with  a  few  bits  of  boords  and  sticks  and  a  quilt;  and  my 
wie-(.od  rest  her  blessed  so>vI   this  day  !-was  brought 
tobed-what  a  bed  it  was!-of  ..e  youngest  child-she 
you  heard  just  now  in  her  catechism ;  and  my  poor  wife 
my  poor  girl.  Father,  died  in   my   arms   the  next   dayt' 
Here  the   strong  man,  with  a  fierce  gesture,  dashed   the 
tears  from  his  eyes.     '  Well,  Father,  i  went  down  on  my 
knees,  and,  the  Lord  pardon  me !  I  swore  I'd  never  for-ivo 
that  night  and  day,  and  the  men  that  done  that  wron-- 
and  1  never  will-and  I'll  never  forgive  the  bloody  Eno-fish 
Government  that  allowed  a  man  to  be  treated  worse  than 
I'd  treat  a  dog,  let  lone  a  Christian,  and  sent  their  ])eelers 
and  their  army  to  help  them  to  do  it  to  me  and  others 
No,  Father,  'tis  no  use  your  talking  to  me,  I  can't  foro-ivo 
them;  and  Avhat's  more,  I  teach  my  children  to  hate  them 
too.     It  would  be  Hke  turning  false  to  her  that's  in  the 
grave-the  mother  of  my  children-if  I  ever  forgave  that 
oitter  day  -ind  bitter  ..Ight.'     Again  and  again,  for  years, 
the  zealous  priest  never  ceased  to  urge  on  that  dark  spirit 


WHAT  GRAVE  AND  QUIET  MEN  THINK. 


007 


as  there,  for  a 
't  get  a  day — 
ike  its  coorse, 
[  coorse  it  was. 
lid  stop  her — 
^as  no  good— 
I  told  them 
10  use  either; 
lot  as  much  as 
:ers  as  bad  as 
under  notice.' 
-ning,  or  that 
n,  that   didn't 
ening  to  him. 
Id  father  was 
that  night  in 
made  for  him 
iiilt ;  and  my 
-was  brought 
■it  child — she 
f  poor  wife — 
!  next   day!' 
,  dashed   the 
lown  on  my 
aever  forgive 
;iat  wrong — ■ 
)ody  English 

worse  than 
;lieir  })eolers 
and  others. 
3an't  forgive 
o  hate  theiji 
fiat's  in  the 
brgave  that 
I,  for  years, 

dark  spirit 


the  necessity  of  imitating  the  Divine  example ;  and  ii  was 
not  until  the  illness  of  the  daughter  whoso  birthplace  was 
the  ditch-side  in  the  bleak  winter,  softened  the  father's 
heart,  that  he  bowed  his  head  in  humility,  or  tliat  the 
word  'forgiveness'  passed  his  hps.  But  forgiveness  did 
not  necessitate  love ;  and  though  he  had  never  taken 
an  active  part  in  any  organisation,  yet  whatever  w^as  osten- 
Bibly  adverse  to  the  British  Government  had  his  sym- 
pathy, and  that  of  his  children. 

I  do  not  care  to  speculate  as  to  the  number  of  the  class 
of  evicted  tenants  scattered  through  the  United  States, 
whether,  like  the  men  just  mentioned,  prosperous  posses- 
sors of  land,  or  adding  unduly  to  the  population  of  some  of 
the  great  towns ;  but  wherever  they  exist,  there  are  to  be 
found  willing  contributors  to  Fenian  funds,  and  enthusi- 
astic supporters  of  anti-British  organisations.  • 

Then  there  are  the  descendants  of  '  the  men  of  '98,'  to 
whom  their  fathers  left  a  legacy  of  hate.  Americiins  these 
may  be,  and  proud  of  their  birth-right ;  yet  they  cherish 
an  affection  for  the  land  of  their  fathers,  and  a  deep- 
seated  hostility  to  the  country  which  they  were  taught  to 
regard  as  its  oppressor.  From  the  date  of  the  Irish 
rebellion  to  the  present  hour  every  successive  agitation 
or  disturbance  has  driven  its  promoters,  its  sympathisers, 
or  its  victims,  across  the  ocean ;  and  thus,  from  3'ear  to 
year,  from  generation  to  generation,  has  an  anti-English 
feeling  been  constantly  quickened  into  active  life,  and  been 
widely  diffused  throughout  America ;  until  now,  not  only 
does  it  permeate  the  whole  Irish  mass,  but  it  is  cherished 
as  fondly  and  fiercely  in  the  log  cabin  of  the  prairie  cr 
the  forest  as  ii,  is  in  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and  movement 
of  the  city. 

I  have  met  in  many  parts  of  the  Union  grave,  quiet 
men  of  business.  Irishmen  who,  though  holding  their 
opinions  with  the  resolute  firmness  common  to  their 
temperament   and  tone   of    thought,  rarely  take  part  in 


008 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMEIIICA. 


tm] 


public  matters,  and  yet  are  interested  in  what  is  passing 
around  them,  especially  in  whatever  concerns  the  honour 
of  their  race   and  country.      From  men   of  this  class   I 
heard    the    most    strongly   expressed    opposition    to   the 
Fenian  movement,  and  occasionally  the  bitterest  contempt 
ot  its  leaders.     Jealous  of  the  reputation  of  their  country- 
men   and,  hke  aU  men  of  high  spirit,  peculiarly  sensitive 
to  ridicule,  they  were  ashamed  of  the  miserable  squabbles 
and  dissensions  so  common  among  the  various  branches  or 
sections  into  which  the  Irish  organisation  is,  or  was  then 
divided,  and  they  experienced  the  keenest  humiliation  as 
some   new  disaster  rendered  the   previous  boasting  more 
glaring,    or   more  painfully   absurd.      Yet   amongst   these 
grave,  quiet  men  of  business— these  men  of  model  lives— 
these  men  in  whose   personal  integrity  any  bank  in  the 
country  would  place  unlimited  trust ;  amongst  these  men 
England  has  enemies,  not  friends.     Thry  are  opposed  to 
Fenianism,  not  because  it  menaces  England  but  because  it 
compromises  Ireland.     So  much  ahke  do  these  men  tliink 
and  express  themselves,  though  perhaps  a  thousand  miles 
apart,  that  one  would  be  inchned  to  suppose  them  in  con- 
stant communication  and  intercourse  with  each  other.    No' 
to  say  in  substance,  but  almost  literally,  this  is  the  manner 
m  which  i  have  heard   a  number   of  these  grave,  quiet 
steady  business  men  refer   to  the  Fenian   movement-    'I 

*  strongly  object  to  this  Fenian  organisation,  for  many 
'  reasons.      In   the  first  place,  it  keeps  up  a  distinct  na- 

*  tionahty  m  the  midst  of  the  American  population,  and 
'  it  is  our  interest  to  be  merged  in  this  nation  as  quickly 
'  as  may  be.  In  the  second  place,  I  have  no  confidence 
'  m  the  men  at  its  head ;  how  can  I  ?  Which  of  them  am 
'  I  to  believe  ?  If  I  believe  one,  I  can't  the  other.  Then 
'  what  they  propose  is  absurd.     They  talk  nonsense  about 

*  going  to  war  with  England,  and  England  at  peace  ^vith 
'the  world;  and  every  additional  disaster  only  rivets 
'  Ireland's  chains  more  strongly.      If,  indeed,  this  country 


IF  THEY  ONLY  COULD  'SEE  THEIR  WAY.' 


cm 


at  is  paRsinn; 
i  the  honour 
this  class   I 
ition    to   the 
3st  contcmj)t 
iieir  couiitry- 
iiiy  sensitive 
le  squabbles 
branches  or 
or  was  then, 
imiliation  as 
astiny-  more 
ong-st   these 
odel  lives — 
3ank  in  the 
these  men, 
opposed  to 
it  because  it 
>  men  tliink 
Lisand  miles 
hem  in  con- 
other.    Nol 
the  manner 
rave,  quiet, 
'  ement :    '  I 
,   for   many 
listinct  na- 
ilation,  and 
as  quickly 
confidence 
f  them  am 
her.     Then 
iense  about 
peace  with 
only  rivets 
lis  country 


*  were  at  war  with  Enoland,  that  would  be  quite  another 

*  thing  ;  and,  after  aU,  of  what  good  would  that  be  for 
'  Ireland  ?— would  it  better  her  condition  ?— would  it  be 
'worth  the  risk?  At  any  rate,  until  such  an  emergency 
'  should  arise,  it  is  a  vexatious  thing  to  see  the  hard-earned 

*  money  of  our  peojjle  going  to   keep   up   a   mischievous 

*  delusion.     But  at  the  same  time,  I  must  say  this  ior  my-- 

*  self,  if  I  could  see  my  way  clearly— if  I  thought  that  a  fair 
'  chance  offered  of  serving  Ireland,  and  making  her  happy, 

*  I  would  willingly  sacrifice  half  what  I  have  in  the  world  in 
'  the  attempt.  The  opportunity  may  come,  ir  God's  good 
'  time  ;  but  it  has  not  come  yet,  and  even  if  it  did,  the 
'  men  at  the  head  are  not  the  men  to  do  the  work.' 

There  are  others— and  they  are  to  be  met  with  in  every 
State  of  the  Union— who  are  o:  the  O'Connell  school ;  in 
fact,  they  are  as  much  of  the  'moral  force'  and  'not  a 
single  drop  of  blood'  policy  now,  as  if  they  were  still 
subscribers  to  Conciliation  Hall,  wore  the  Rep'ial  button, 
and  exhibited  a  card  of  membership  over  the  mantle-shelf. 
They  prefer  the  open  ways  of  the  constitution  to  secret 
oaths  and  midnight  drillings  ;  and  when  they  read  in  the 
Irish  news  the  miserable  record  of  a  new  failure,  they  ex- 
claim—' Oh,  if  these  people  would  only  follow  O'Connell's 
advice  !  He  carried  Emancipation  without  the  loss  of  a  life, 
or  the  spilling  of  a  drop  of  blood.'  And  yet  these  '  moral - 
force  '  men  are  not  to  be  implicitly  trusted  for  consistency  : 
if  they,  too,  '  saw  their  way,'  and  matters  really  came  to  a 
crisis,  they  might  be  found  contributing  their  $10,000,  or 
their '$20,000,  or  their  $50,000  to  send  a  ship  to  sea  with 
the  green  flag  flying  at  her  peak. 

If  it  be  asked,  is  this  anti-British  feeling  likely  to  die 
out  ?  Considering  that  it  has  so  long  existed,  and  that  it 
is  more  intense,  as  well  as  more  active  at  this  day  than  at 
any  time  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  it  is  rather 
difficult  to  suppose  it  would,  or  will.  Emigration  is  adding 
yearly,  monthly,  weekly  to  its  strength.     Few  who  land 


610 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


■4 
n 


i 

< 


I 


m 


at  Cnstle  Garden  that  are  not  prepared  by  previous  sym* 
pathy   to  join  or  to  sui>port  wliatever  anti-British  or<^ani- 
Bation  may  exist ;   nor   are   they   lonj,^  in  America  before 
they  catch  the  stron<^  contagion  of   its   bitter  hostihty — 
assuming  they  have  not  ah-eady  felt  it  at  home.     Every 
batch  of  500  or  1,000,  every  new  50,000,  or  100,000,   while 
adding  to  the  Irish  population — the  Irish  Nation — at  the 
American  side   of  the  Atlantic,  strengthens  the  Irish  ele- 
ment, and  deepens  and  intensifies  the  anti-English  feeling. 
It  may  subside — so  may  the  sea  ;   but,  like  the  sea,  the 
first  breath  will  set  it  again  in  motion,  while  a  storm  would 
lash  it  into  fury.     Thus  it  is  with  that   vast,    deep-lying, 
ftll-]3ervading  sentiment  which  exists  in  the  Irish  heart — 
which  is  cherished  as  something  holy  (and  in  its  unselfish 
aspirations   there   is   nothing  mean  or  ignoble) — which  is 
fed  by  tradition,  nourished  by  history,  kept  alive  by  in- 
stances of  legal  wrong  or  sanctioned  oppression,  stimulated 
by  the  musical  rhytiim  and  stirring  verse  of  the  ballad, 
roused  into  a  blaze  by  appeals  that  flush  the  cheek  and 
kindle   the   fire   of    the   eye.     It   may  subside  ;    but  it  is 
difficult  to  think  how,  without  some  counteracting  cause, 
it  can  die  out. 

The  thorough-going  Fenians — w^iether  leaders,  orators, 
or  rank  and  file — would,  if  anything,  prefer  that  the 
admitted  cause  of  Irish  discontent  should  not  be  removed ; 
for  they  naturally  argue — '  If  our  hopes  of  regenerating 
Ireland  be  based  upon  revolution,  it  is  better  for  our 
purpose  that  the  various  causes  and  sources  of  discontent 
and  disaffection  should  be  allowed  to  exist,  and  by  their 
prolonged  existence  irritate  and  gall  the  public  mind  more 
and  more,  and  thus  keep  the  people  in  a  condition  most 
favourable  to  revolutionary  teaching.  Let  the  sources  of 
discontent  be  dried  up,  the  causes  of  anger  and  irrita- 
tion be  removed,  and  what  can  be  hoped  for  then  ? '  If 
half  a  dozen  new  grievances  could  be  improvised  to-mor- 
row, their  announcement  would  be  hailed  with  gladness  by 


A  GRIEVANCE  REDRESSED  IS  A  WEAPON  BROKEN.    6il 


previous  sym-< 
British  orgaiii- 
Lmcrica  before 
iter   hostility — 

home.     Every 

100,000,  vvhife 

Nation — at  the 

the  Irish  ele- 
Inghsh  feehnj:^. 
B  the  sea,  the 
a  storm  would 
st,    deep-lying, 

Irish  heart — 
n  its  unselfish 
ble) — which  is 
t  alive  by  in- 
lon,  stimulated 
of  the  ballad, 
he  cheek  and 
de  ;  but  it  is 
iracting  cause, 

xders,  orators, 
sfer  that  the 
b  be  removed ; 

regenerating 

letter  for   our 

of  discontent 

and  by  their 
ic  mind  more 
ondition  mont 
lie  sources  of 
er  and  irrita- 
)r  then  ? '  If 
)vised  to-mor- 
h  gladness  by 


those  who  desire  to  keep  alive  the  Fenian  organisation, 
and  impart  a  more  vengeful  sjjirit  to  the  feeling  againsii 
England.  A  grievance  redressed  is  a  weapon  br()k(;n.  I 
remember  the  h)ok  of  genuine  annoyance  with  which  u 
high-pressure  Fenian,  who  introduced  himself  to  mo  in  a 
Northern  State,  received  information  on  a  subject  having 
reference  to  Irijih  trade  and  manufactures.  He  desired  to 
learn — for  an  oration,  as  I  afterwards  understood, — what 
were  the  special  restrictions  which  the  jealousy  of  England 
still  imposed  on  the  industry  and  trade  of  Ireland.  He 
was  filled  with  the  memory  of  the  'discouragement'  of  the 
Irish  woollens  by  the  same  William  respecting  whose 
memory  so  much  nonsense  is  uttered  on  certain  anniver- 
saries ;  and  he  glowed  as  he  thought  of  the  indignant 
oratory  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons.  But  lie  knew 
little — indeed,  he  'Md  not  desire  to  know  it — of  the  actual 
state  of  things  at  the  present  hour  ;  and  when  I  assured 
him  that,  so  far  as  the  law  stood,  the  merchants,  manu- 
facturers, and  business  men  of  Ireland  were  on  a  complete 
equaUty  with  their  brethren  in  England,  he  could  scarcely 
bring  himself  to  believe  what  I  said.  Ho  Avas  literally 
disgusted.  If  he  could  only  have  told  his  eager  audience 
that,  at  the  moment  he  stood  on  that  platform.  Queen 
Victoria  was  imitating  Mie  example  of  '  the  glorious,  pious, 
and  immortal  William  of  Orange,'  and  'discouraging'  the 
Hnen  trade  of  Ireland,  as  her  predecessor  had  discouraged 
the  woollen  trade,  what  a  stroke  for  the  orator  !  And  if  he 
could  have  added,  that  the  burning  words  of  Grattan  had 
been  in  vain,  and  the  labelled  canon  of  College  Green 
without  their  significance,  and  that  the  jealousy  of  the 
Saxon  monopolists  was  as  strong  in  the  Senate  of  England 
that  day  as  when  a  monarch  basely  listened  to  the  selfish 
churls  who  were  afraid  of  Irish  competition,  he  would  have 
convinced  his  audience  that  revolution  was  the  only  remedy 
for  such  oppression.  Ho  cherished  the  belief,  that  the 
injustice   had  only  grown  more  venerable  ;  and  I  almost 


612 


Tllli;  IltlSU  IN  AMERICA. 


sympathisocl  with  liia  dint  tohh  as  I  riidcl;^  doinolishotl  the 
raw  material  of  his  {^lowiuf^-  oIcxhiciikh!.  ^^'^oul(l  to  Hoaveu 
that  apathy  and  folly,  timidity  and  prejudico,  had  not  loft 
so  *nany  real  fj^ricvaiiceH  Htill  unredrcHsed  ! 

The  powerful  Public  Press  of  America  is  favourable,  ou 
the  whole,  to  what  may  be  termed  'the  Irish  cause,'  as 
distinct  from  any  special  or<,'anisation  or  u^ovement  iu  its 
ostensible  interest.     There   are  very   few  journals   in   the 
United  States  that  do  not  either  broadly  assert  or  unre- 
servedly admit  that  Ireland  is  badly  governed — that  slio  is 
the  I*olaud  of  En<>iand.     Some  journals  vehemently  oppose 
the  Fenian  movement,  and  denounce  its  leaders  and  their 
objects  in   the   most    unmeiisured   terms ;    but   the   same 
journals  treat  (he  Irish  q\iestioii  with  sympathy  and  re- 
spect.     The    fact  is,  there  are  not  many  journals  in  the 
United  States  which  are  not,  to  a  certain  extent,  under  the 
control  or  influence  of  Irishmen,  or  the  sons  of  Irishmen. 
They  are  edited,  or  part  edited,  or  sub-edited,  or  reported 
for,  by  men  of  Irish  birth  or  blood  ;  and  with  the  birth  and 
the  blood  come  sympathies  for  the  old  country,  and  an  un- 
friendly i'eelin<>-  towards  '  her  hereditary  oppressor.'     Then 
there  are  papers  cxclusivol}^  Irish  in  their  character,  such  as 
the  Jiosfon  rUof,  which  I  heard  described  as  the  Vade  Mecum 
of  the  Irish  emigrant — the  Irish  American,  ov  the  Monitor, 
a  well-written  paper  in    San   Francisco ;   and    now  John 
Mitchell  is  bringing  the   influence   of  thorough   sincerity, 
the  weight  of  personal  sacrifice,  and  perha])s  one  of  the 
ablest   pens   in   America   to   the  anti-British  cause  :  then 
there  are,  in  almost  every  direction,   journals  of  various 
shades  of  opinion  as  to  policy,  but  in  feeUng  and  i)rincij)lo 
thoroughly  Irish.     So  that,  although  there  may  bo  decideil 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  mode,  or  the  means,  or  the 
opportunity  of  serving  Ireland,  and  a  still  more  strongly 
marked  dificreuce  of  opinion  as  to  a  special  organisation, 
and  more  so  as  to  it§  leaders,  there  is  scarcely  any  diU'erence 
of  opinion    as  to    the   existence   of  Irish    wrong,  and  thy 


THE  IRISH  ELKMENT. 


613 


)inolislu5d  the 
ilil  to  Houvou 
I,  had  not  left 

fiivourublo,  ou 
iwh  cause,'  im 
ivemeut  iu  its 
inials  in  the 
adi'i  or  iiiiro- 
\ — that  she  is 
nontly  oppose 
ci'H  and  tlieir 
>ut  the  same 
lathy  and  re- 
irnals  in  the 
nt,  undor  the 

of  Irishmen. 
i,  or  reported 
the  birth  and 
y,  and  an  un- 
ossor.'  Then 
acter,  such  as 
!  Vade  Mecum 

the  Monilur, 
d  now  John 
gh  sincerity, 
s  one  of  tlie 

cause  :  then 
Is  of  various 
and  princij^lo 
y  be  decidetl 
neans,  or  the 
lore  strongiy 
organisation, 
my  dill'erence 
J  Jig",  and  thy 


Justice  of  the  Irish  causn.  Thus  the  Pul)lic  Oi)inion  of  tho 
country  all'ords  its  Hancti;)i:  to  the  convictions  of  the  Irish 
iu  America,  and  a  moral  if  not  an  active  support  to  cflbrls 
unfriendly  and  evcm  hostile  to  England. 

Tho  events  of  tho  Lite  war  have  not  added,  either  iu 
the  Nortli  or  in  the  South,  to  partisans  of  England,  or  to 
her  defenders  in  tho  Press.  Tiie  North  blames  her  for 
having  gone  too  far  in  recognition  of  the  South — the  South 
is  indignant  with  her  for  not  having  gone  farther ;  and 
that  terrible  'Alabama'  has  caused  many  a  man  in  tlie 
North  to  grind  his  teeth  with  rage,  and  fiercely  pray  lor  tlio 
opportunity  of  retahation.  So,  altogether  independent  of 
whatever  sympathy  there  maybe  amongst  th(i  'fiill-blood(jd' 
Americans  of  the  Northern  States  in  favour  of  the  Irish 
cause,  the  support  or  sanction,  whatever  it  may  be,  wliich 
the  Fenian  movement  receives  from  those  unconnected  with 
Ireland  by  birth  or  blood,  is  in  no  small  degree  the  result  of 
the  depredations  of  that  famous  cruiser.  It  may  be  also 
remarked,  that  the  Irish  at  both  sides  of  the  line  won  tho 
respect  and  earned  the  gratitude  of  every  generous-minded 
man  of  Federacy  or  Confederacy  by  their  dauntl(!ss  vahnir 
and  unlimited  self-devotion.  The  Irish  have  purchased 
by  their  blood  a  claim  to  the  attention  of  America ;  and 
America  listens  with  sympathy  to  the  pleadings  of  her 
adopted  children,  who  have  made  her  interests,  her  honour, 
and  her  glory,  theirs. 

The  Irish  clement  being  constantly  on  the  increase,  it 
must,  as  a  matter  of  inevitable  necessity,  become  more 
influential,  more  powerful,  more  to  be  conciliated  and 
consulted — to  be  used,  or  to  be  abused;  and  it  need 
scarcely  be  said,  for  it  is  patent  and  notorious,  that  there 
are  those  who  will  use  and  who  will  abuse  it.  There  is 
no  country  in  tho  world  in  Avhich  elections  are  so  frequent 
as  the  United  States ;  and  the  humblest  citizen  being  in 
possession  of  the  franchise,  there  are  thus  afforded  almost 
innumerable  opportunities  of  appeahng  to   the   prejudices 


I 


6U 


THE  nirsH  in  America. 


1^ 


4 
* 

* 

m 


< 


a 


■J 


^    if 


or  paiidiTin^^  to  ilio  pussioiis  of  (Iioho  iii  wlioni  is  roposcnl 
tho  Hovcroi-ii   powc'r  of  election,  oven  of  niisiii^^  tlio  hwc 
cvhhUiI  hoUVu'V  or  tlio  iiiuhitioUH  stiitosm.iu  -ii:iy,   tho  mil- 
spliltcr  or  tlio  jounu^viniin    tiiilor— to  tho  loi'ti(..st  di'^miy 
within    tho   limits  of   the   conHtitiition.     ThuH  wo  licur  ul 
Honators,   und   nionihors   of  (N.iiuivss,  juid   Scerotjirio.s  of 
fcJtato,  and  candidatciH  for  tlio  rrifsidoncy,  or  ovoii  InddorH 
of  that  ()1H(!0,  delivoring  addrcssos,  proposinj,'  rosolutioiiH, 
or   oxproKsin^^  scutiiuoiilH   favourahh;  to  Irinh  nationality,' 
and  tinned  with  a  moru  or  loss  decided  anti-lJritish  spirit. 
ThoKc  who  thuH  Hi)eak  or  act  may  bo  honcHt  in  intention, 
may   really   do.sins   to.  assisst   Ireland,    may  belie; vo'  in   tho 
justico  of  her  canso  and  in  the  probability  of  horsuwesH; 
or  they  may  not  earo  a  rush  about  tho  country  of  which 
they   HO   elocpuintly   declaim,  and   may   ref>ard   the   wholo 
thinjj  m  so  much  moonshine,  only  us(>ful  for  th(!  ])urpoHeH 
of  political   capital;    but  that  the  speeches  are  delivered, 
tho  resolutit)nH  i)roposed,  and  the  sentiments  oxpresscul,  is 
known  to  the  world.     It  may  become  a  question— to  what 
lengths   will   these   declaralions  go?- -to   what   point   will 
theso  professions  of  sympathy  reach  ?— how  far  will  tlu^se 
enthusiastic  friends  of  Ireland  advance  ?— or  at  what  line 
will  they  halt?     Whether  they  advance,  or  wlu^ther  they 
Btop  short,  tho  mischief  is  done  in  (utlier  case— the  weight 
of    their   name    and    inlluenco    is    given    in    sanction   of 
a   sentiment  which,  so   fur   as   the  Irish  are   regarded,  is 
honestly   and    sincerely   entertained.      Tho    occasion   may 
arise,  sooner  or  later,  w^ho]i   difficulties  would   spring  up 
between  the  two  great  nations  at  cither  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  these  occasions  may  sorely  perplex  the  men  wlio  tluis 
deliberatcly  play  with  lire;  but  if  they  do  arise,  one  thin:-- 
at  least  is  certain,— the  Irish  vote  will  not  be  cast  into  tho 
balance  on  the  side  of  peace.     In  whatever  partv  England 
may  possibly  find  a  friend,  or  a  peace-maker,  it  will  not 
be  among  those  who  long  impatiently  for  the   chance  of 
another  Fontcnoy. 


"nr-XIKF  IN  KN(;r.AND\S  drcay. 


01ft 


oni  is  ropoHCil 

-Miiy,   ilu!   i-uil- 
()rLi(\st   (lin-iiity 
IS   wo  lieur  of 
Sccrot.'ii'ioM  of 
■  oven  liohh'r.s 
li*  rosoliitioiiH, 
(li    iiiiiioiiiiliiy, 
-Hi'itisli  s[>irii. 
b  in  iuteutioii, 
xilit'vo"  ill    iho 
f  lior  suocoHH ; 
niry  of  whicli 
fd    tho   wlioki 
•  iho  pnrpoHCH 
iiro  (lelivonul, 

oxproHscnl,  Ih 

tion — to  what 

at   point   will 

far  will  those 

at  what  lino 
wlu^ther  thoy 
[) — tho  woij^-lit 

sanction   of 

ro^''ardecl,  is 
occasion  may 
d   sprin«^-   up 

'  tho  Atlantic, 
non  who  thus 
Lso,  one  thin^- 
cast  into  tho 
arty  En<>-land 
•,  it  will  not 
le   chance  of 


A  Htranj]fo  notion — ind<!od,  downri;^dit  dcliiHion — oti.stH 
in  the  IriHh-Anieii(!an  mind  us  to  the  power  of  Kn^dand. 
One  wonld  HUpi)OHo,  from  li,st(!ninj,'  to  one  of  her  coni<!iii- 
nerH,  that  Knj^dand'H  day  was  ^'one-that  she  was  worn 
ont  and  oflote,  that  the  Ihitish  Lion  was  faii;^d(!HH,  an 
liarndoHH  an  a  i)(!rformin<jf  ])oodlo,  as  innocuouH  as  a  HtiilVcd 
Hp(!(!hnon  in  a  travelliii}^'  show.  Yon  may  tell  the  scolli-r, 
of  her  revenue  of  more  than  piU), {)()(), {H)0  in  ^^old,  and  how 
hor  people  every  year  un}jfind^dii«,^ly  expend  $l:5(),()()(),0{)() 
in  ^n)ld  on  her  army  and  her  fleet;  hut  you  are  pooli- 
pO(ilied,  and  answered,  that  her  day  is  past,  and  that  she 
will  ^^o  to  pieces  at  tho  iirst  shock.  'Her  1{)(),()()(),  or 
ir)0,()()()  soldiers,  scattered  over  tho  world;  what  are  they? 
We  had  more  than  a  million  in  arms  at  the  close  of  tho 
war,  besides  what  the  South  had.  "SYhjit  is  she,  then,  to 
this  ji^rcat  country  ?  We ' — tho  spciaker  is  an  Irishmjin  of  less 
than  thirty  years'  standin^^ — '  we  whipped  her  in  1770,  and 
we  whipped  her  in  1812,  and  we'd  whip  her  a^'ain  ;  and 
I  wish  to  Clod  wo  had  the  chance  to-day  before  to-morrow 
— that's  all.' 

The  same  belief  in  the  power  of  America  and  the  decay 
of  England  is  as  strongly  entertained  by  tho  civilian  as 
})y  the  soldi(ir,  l)y  tho  female  contributor  to  tho  funds  of 
the  local  *  circle,'  as  by  the  most  enthusiastic  of  its  mem- 
bers. 

Tho  announcements  made  through  tho  (lable,  of  tho 
al)()rtivo  risings  in  February  and  March  of  this  year, 
tlnilled  the  Fenian  heart  with  more  of  hope  tlian  anxiety; 
they  wore  read  through  rose-tinted  ghissos,  and  translated 
througli  the  imagination.  Not  until  the  very  last  moment 
would  the  admission  bo  made  that  tho  whole  thing  was  an 
utter  failure ;  and  even  then,  there  were  many  who  would 
not,  or  who  could  not,  regard  it  as  a  delusion.  I  have 
before  me  at  this  moment  the  calm  steady  gaze,  replete 
with  confidence  and  enthusiasm,  of  the  Irishman  who 
supplied  me  with  tho  morning  papers,  as  his  first  words 


.3 


616 


THE  IRISU  IN  AMERICA. 


of    salutation    were — 'Glorious    news    to-day,    sir!     Tlia 
country  is  up  ! '     I  asked,  '  What  news  ?  what  country  ?  ' 
'  Ireland,  to  be  sure.     She's  up,  sir,  thank  God ! '     When 
T    read     the     telegram,    I    instinctively   exclaimed — 'Sad 
news,   indeed — miserable,   miserable   news.'     'You   call  it 
sad   and   miserable  ! — I  call  it  glorious.'     I  told   him   he 
w  culd  not  call  it  glorious,  if  he  knew  the  state  of  things  as 
well  as  I  did  ;  but  he  regarded  me  with  a  look  of  respect- 
ful disdain.     He  would  believe  nothing  against  his  hopes. 
And  when,  at  last,  facts  were  too  powerful,  even  for  his 
seven-fold  credulity,  he  was  still  unconvinced.     It  was  a 
mischance,    a  momentary  check,    even   a  blunder;  but  it 
would  be  all  right  soon;  the  next  time  the  thing  would 

be  done  better.     And  he  was  only  a  t^^pe  of  a  class who 

give,   and  give  largel}^  of  their  hard  earnings,  to  sustain 
a  cause  on  which  they  have  set  their  hearts— a  class  whom 
no  reverse  can  discourage,  no  disaster  dismay,  no  treachery 
ahenate   or   disgust.     This  faith   is   the    strength    of    the 
organisation — this    generous     self-sacrifice     its     unfaihng 
resource.     It  is  idle  to  say  the  money  is  '  extorted,'-  -it  /.s 
freehj  and  gladly  given,  with  the  conviction  of  its  being  a 
holy  tribute,  offered  on  the  altar  of  country.     The  working- 
man  takes  it  perhaps   more   often   from   his  family  thai. 
from  his  pleasures ;  but  he  still  gives  it  as  a  duty  as  well 
as  a  gratification.     The  female  '  help  '  Avill  dehberately  lay 
down  her  half-dollar  a  month,  or  whole  dollar  a  month,  as 
her  fixed  contribution  to   the  Fenian  funds  ;  and  shoukl 
some    sudden    emergency   arise — some   occasion   for    still 
greater  sacrifice— she  will  pour  her   hoarded  dollars  into 
hei-  country's  exchequer,  reserving,  it  may  be,  only  so  mueli 
as  she  intends  to  send  to  her  parents  at  home.     There  is 
a  kind  of  desperate   hopefiiiness  in   their   faith ;    '  It  may 
not  be  this  time — perhaps  not ;  but  something  will  be  snio 
to  turn  up,  and  that  will  give  us  the  opportunity  we  want.' 
The  something  that  is  sure  to  turn  up  is,  of  course,  a  wai' 
with  England— an  event  which   would  be   hailed   with  a 


lay,    sir !      Tlia 
vhid  country  ?  ' 

God!'    wiien 
^claimed — '  Sad 
'You   call  it 
[  told   liim   he 
ite  of  things  as 
ook  of  respect- 
inst  his  hopes, 
il,  oven  for  his 
2ed.     It  was  a 
lunder;  but   it 
e  thing  would 
f  a  class — wdio 
ngs,  to  sustain 
—a  class  whom 
i,  no  treachery 
•ength    of    the 

its  unfailing 
xtorted/-  -it  /.s 
of  its  being  a 
The  working 
s  family  thai, 
a  duty  as  well 
deliberately  lay 
ar  a  month,  as 
5 ;  and  should 
-sion  for  still 
d  dollars  into 

only  so  much 
me.  There  is 
aith  ;  '  It  may 
g  will  be  sure 
lity  we  want.' 

course,  a  wai' 
lailed   with  a 


WAR  WITH  ENGLAND. 


ei7 


shout  of  dehght  by  the  Irish  in  America.  Imagination 
could  not  conceive  the  rapture,  the  frenzy,  with  wliicli, 
from  every  side,  the  Irish  would  rush  to  that  war.  From 
the  remotest  State,  from  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  from 
the  Southernmost  hmits  of  Florida,  from  the  heart  of  the 
country,  from  the  Far  "West,  from  the  clearing  of  the  forest, 
from  the  home  on  the  prairie— from  the  mine,  the  factory, 
the  work-shop—from  the  river,  and  from  the  sea— they 
would  flock  to  the  upraised  banners,  equally  loved  and 
equally  sacred— the  green  flag  of  Erin,  and  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  of  the  Great  Eepublic.  As  it  were  with  a  bound, 
and  a  shriek  of  exultation,  the  Irish  would  rush  to  meet 
their  enemy— to  fight  out,  on  land  and  ocean,  the  feud  that 
has  survived  through  centuries— to  revenge,  if  so  they  could 
the  wrongs  inflicted  by  monarchs  and  soldiers  and  states- 
men, by  confiscations  and  by  massacres,  by  penal  laAvs 
and  evil  policy.  Nay,  I  solemnly  behevc  they  would  not 
desire  a  greater  boon  of  America  than  that  the  fighting 
should  be  left  entirely  to  themselves;  and  never  did  mar- 
tyrs more  joyfully  approach  the  stake,  in  which  they  beheld 
the  gate  of  Paradise,  than  would  these  Irish  exiles  and 
their  descendants  march  to  battle  in  a  cause  that  gratified 
the  twin  passions  of  their  souls— love  and  hate.  And 
were  the  American  Government  so  forgetful  of  international 
obligation  as  to  close  their  eyes  to  what  mi<dit  be  iroinc- 
on,  and  allow  a  fortnight,  or  a  month,  to  pass  without 
any  active  interference;  and  w^ere  their  unwillingness  to 
act  a  matter  thoroughly  understood,— in  such  a  case,  the 
frontiers  of  Canada  would  be  passed  with  a  rush— and 
then!— why,  God  knows  what  then.  A  rupture  with 
England— to  cease  when?  Is  it  after  a  long  and  terrible 
or  sharp  and  wicked  contest,  which  would  end  with  the 
reahsation  of  the  American  idea  of  the  natural  boundaries 
of  the  United  States  at  the  other  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Lakes,  and  from  Labrador  to  the  Pacific  ?  The 
future  is  in  the  hands  of  Providence. 


ft 

J 


3 

'•'■) 


618 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Deplorable,  iiuloed,  would  a  dvudly  stru^r^rle  be  betw 


^VGixt  nations,  spealcinf>-   tbo    same   1 


een 


anffuam},  in- 


tlie   two 

Jiontors  of  a  common  Ht(>ri.tn]-e,  linked  t<^o(,tbcr  by  ties  of 
inter(Kst  as  of  blood -deplorable  to  tlie  dearest  interests  of 
humanity  and  civilisation  that  such  a  conflict  should  occur ; 
that  the  commerce  of  ea(;h  country  should  bo  crippled  on 
the  hioh  seas,  that  the  seaboard  of  both  should  be  circled 
with  fire  and  sword— perhaps  still  more  deplorable  to  the 
country  which  inspires  such  passionate  attachment,  and  is 
the   cause   of    such   determined    hate.       Each   could   and 
would  inliict  unspeakable  injury  on  the  other ;  but  were  a 
balance  of  probable  evil  to  be  struck,  it  would  bo,  manifestly 
must   be,  on   the   side   of  Eno-land.     Tliis  may  exciter  the 
uicredulity  or  the  indionation  of  the  Eno-hsR  reader ;  but 
there  are  geoo-raphical  reasons  why  it  should  be  so.     As- 
suming the  over-sanguine  view  of  the  case,  and  supposino- 
that  the  title  '  United  Kingdom '  fittingly  represented  the 
relations    which,   in    case    of    war    with   America,    would 
exist   between  Oreat  Britain  and  Ireland,  what,  after  all, 
is  this  United  Kingdom'?     A  cluster  of  islands,  inhabited^ 
no    doubt,   by   a    brave,    hardy,    high-spirited,    energetic,' 
adventurous  people,  whose  greatness  rests  nniinly  on  their 
industry,  their   enterprise,   and  their  skill  in  the   arts  of 
peace,— but  not  so  large   in  extent   as  an   average    State 
of  the  Union,  which  is  now  ty])ilied  by  the  six-and-thirty 
stars  on  the  banner  of  the  Kepubhc.      These  islands  are 
densely  populated;  but  it  may  be  questioned  if  the  same 
population,   which  is  a   source  of  wealth  in   peace,  when 
producing   at  profit   for   the   consumption   of    the 'world, 
woidd  be  equally  a  source  of  wealth  in  the  time  of  war,' 
when    hostile    cruisers    infested   the   seas,   and   made   the 
path  of  commerce  one  of  multiphed  risk.     England  cannot 
feed  herself,  though  her  fields  are  fruitful,  and  she  carries 
the  science  of  agriculture  to  a  more  successful  aijplication 
than  any  country  of  Europe  :  she  must  depend  on  foreign 
som-ces  for  her  supplies— at  least,  to  supplement  her  owu 


le  be  between 
laiif,nT!iyo,  ill- 
:lier  by  ties  of 
st  interests  of 
should  ocenr ; 
)o  crippled  on 
)nld  be  circled 
lorable  to  tLo 
bnient,  and  is 
:;h   could   and 
r  ;  but  were  a 
bo,  nianil'estlv 
lay  excite  the 
i  reader;  but 
1  be  so.     As- 
ud  supposing- 
presented  the 
lerica,    would 
liat,  after  all, 
ds,  inhabited, 
d,    energetic, 
;iinly  on  their 
the   arts  of 
verag-e    State 
jix-and-thirty 
e  islands  are 
if  the  same 
peace,  when 
'    the   world, 
time  of  ^\■Jlr, 
d   made   the 
"•land  cannot 
I  she  carries 
1  ajiplication 
d  on  foreign 
ent  her  own 


WHY  MOST  INJURIOUS  TO  ENGLAND. 


619 


production.     Check  and  embarrass,  not  to  say  cut  olt;  lier 
necessary  supply  from  other  counti'i(js,   and  up  goes  the 
price  of  the  poor  man's  loaf  to  a  famine  standard!     Even 
high   wages  would  scarcely  meet   the   enhanced   price    of 
human  food  consequent  upon  a  conflict  with  a  maritime 
nation.     But  where  would  the  high  wages  come  from,  and 
by  whom  would  they  be  received?     Free  and  unfettered 
commerce,  which  means  a  safe  and  unrestricted  higliwjiy, 
by  land   or   by  sea,  is   the   very  life   of  trade;    ])ut   only 
render  it  necessary  for  the  timid  merchantman  to  cluster 
round  the  armed  vessel,  and  seek  the  protection  of  her 
guns,  and  adieu  to  free  and  unfettered  commerce,  for  a  safe 
and  uninterrupted  highway  no  longer  exists.     Why  pro- 
duce  calicoes,  and   lincuis,  and  woollens,    and   laces,    and 
silks,  and  hardware,  if  you  cannot  depend  on  their  r(!a(;h- 
ing  your  customers  in  safety?— and  if  pro(hiction  ceases 
to  be  profitable,  what  is  to  become  of  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands, the  myriads,  who  now  labour  in  cheerfulness,  be- 
cause their  country  enjoys  the  priceless  blessings  of  peace  ? 
The  population  of  Lancashire  may  have  had  some  idea— a 
faint  idea  at  best— of  the  horrors  of  a  universal  paralysis 
of  trade ;  a  faint  idea,  because  the  country,  being  generally 
prosperous,  notwithstanding  the  Cotton  Famine  caused  by 
the   Civil   War  in  America,  was   able   to   come,    and   did 
promi)tly  come,  to  their  rescue.     But  were  English  custom- 
ers to  bo  reached  only  by  blockade-runners,  or  Ijy  the  avoid- 
ance of  hostile  cruisers  and  daring  privateers,  or  under  the 
protection  of  iron-clads  and  monitors,  then  would  bitter 
poverty  and  hard  privation  be  brought  to  the  homes  of 
the  very  w^orkers  who,  being  fuUy  employed  in  18G2  and 
18G3,  were  able  to  extend  the  hand  of  fraternal  assistance 
to  the  500,000  sufferers  from  the  failure  of  a  single  branch 
of  our  multiform  national  industry.     Dear  food,  and  scant 
wages !— humanly   speaking,    the   most   terrible   calamities 
that    can    befall    the   working-man,    his    family,    and    his 
liome.       Those   who   forged  cannon,  manufactured  rifles, 


.4 


1 


'^ 


'    . 


620 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


and  supplied  miiintions  of  war,  would  flourish ;  but,  Avitli 
war  taxatiou,  and  war  prices,  and  wtir  food,  aud  war  panic, 
of  what  value  would  be  our  pu})lic  securities?  Tlieu' 
suppose  the  war  at  an  end,  providentially  in  a  year,' 
probably  in  two,  how  many  hundred  millions  would  it 
have  added  to  the  National  Debt,  which  now  devours  more 
than  one-third  of  the  entire  revenue  of  the  State  ? 

And  what  Irishman  can  think,  than  without  a  shudder 
of  horror,  of  what  his  c(nintry  would  have  to  go  through 
during  that  tremendous  crisis!  The  pent-up  passions  of 
centuries  let  loose  in  one  wild  fi-enzied  outburst— ven- 
geance, long  brooded  ovf>r,  stimulated  rather  than  quenched 
in  blood—the  hills,  and  plains,  and  valleys  of  that  hapless 
knd  the  theatre  of  a  desperate  war,  the  battle-field  not 
alone  of  contending  armies,  but  of  conflicting  races!  It 
requires  the  insensibility  of  the  Stoic  to  contemplate  the 
multiplied  and  complicated  horrors  which  a  war  with 
America  would  entail  on  Ireland.  Turning  our  eyes  from 
the  aAvful  spectacle  which  the  imagination  too  readily 
conjures  up,  let  us  rather  glance  across  the  ocean,  anil 
see  why  the  balance  would,  of  necessity,  be  in  favour  of 
the  Great  Kepubhc. 

An  enemy  might  crii)ple  the  commerce  of   the  United 
States,  might  possibly  be  able  to  blockade  a  few  of  her 
harbours,  might  probably  succeed  in  burni)ig  a  dockyard, 
or  setting  a  portion  of  a  maritime  city  in  a  blaze ;  though' 
the  bombardment  of  Charleston  does  not  offer  a  very  hoi^e- 
ful  precedent  to  a  foreign  foe.     But  what  impression  could 
any  Enghsh  army— any  possible  army  that  England,  not 
to  say  could  spare,  but  could  raise— make  upon  the  United 
States?      Curran's   image   of    the   child   vainly   trying  to 
grasp  the  globe  with  its  tiny  hand,  affords  a  not  inaptldca 
of   the  practical   absurdity  of   an   armed  invasion  of   the 
gigantic  territory  of  the  Union  by  even  the  mightiest  of 
the  military  powers  of  Europe ;  and  England  is  not  that 
No  foreign  nation  could  reach  the  heart  of  America.     The 


WHY  LESS  INJURIOUS  TO  AMERICA. 


621 


ish ;  but,  ^vith 
nd  war  panic, 
itiosV  Tlu3ii, 
ly  in  a  year, 
ons  would  it 
devours  more 
tatc  ? 
►ut  a  sliuddor 

0  go  through 
p  passions  of 
utburst — ven- 
han  quenched 
f  that  hapless 
attle-field  not 
ng  races!  It 
itemplate  the 

a   war   with 
ur  eyes  from 

1  too  readily 
e  ocean,  and 
in  favour  of 

f  the  United 
I  few  of  her 

a  dockyard, 
laze ;  though 

a  very  hope- 
:*ession  could 
England,  not 
n  the  United 
ly  trying  to 
ot  inapt  idea 
asion  of  the 
mightiest  of 

is  not  that 
nerica.     The 


heart   of    America  exists  in  her  natural  resources,  in  her 
power  to  feed  herself— to  sustain  her  people  without  the 
aid  of  foreign  assistance  ;   and  her  pLiins,  ri(;h  witli  gold.ui 
grain,  lie  far  away  from  the  reach  of  charging  s(piiulrons 
and  the  sound  of  hostile  cannon.     War  with  a  Eiu-opean 
Power  would  serve  rather  than  injure  the  m.'uiufacturiiig 
industry  of   the  Unitcxl  States,    employ   rather    tlian    dis" 
employ   her   people.      Perhaps   the   evil   is,    that   America 
continues,  even   yet,    to   be   too   much   d(ip(;ndcnt   on    the 
manufactiu-ing   industry    of    Europe   for   articles   of    con- 
venience   and   utility,    as    well   as   hixury  ;   and   whatever 
would  throw  her  more  on  her  own  resources,  natural  and 
created,  would,  in  the  long  run,  be  for  her  benefit.     With 
her  mountains  of  iron,  and  her  enormous  regions  of  coal, 
with  her  varied  climate,  and  her  infinite  natural  produc- 
tions,  and  the  skill,   ingenuity,  knowledge,  and  inventive 
power  of  a  population  trained  in  all  the  arts  of  civihsaticm, 
and  ministering  to  her  wants— she  can  indeed  contemplate 
without  dismay  the  chances  of  a  war  waged  against  her  by 
any  foreign  nation,  however  great,  mighty,  or  formidable 
that   nation   may   be.      Nor   would   a   foreign   war,    great 
calamity  as,  under  the  most  fav()ura1)le  circumstances,  it 
would  be,  be  altogether  unpopular  with  numbers  of  the 
American   people,    inc-luding   even   the    patriotic    and   the 
thoughtful ;   inasmuch   as   it  would  most  effectually  solve 
the    Southern  difficulty,  settle  in  a  moment  the  question 
of  reconstruction  on  the  broad  basis  of  mutual  amity  and 
recoi  dliation,  and  unite  under  the  one  banner  those  who 
for  four  long  years  waged  a  bitter  and  relentless  war,  man 
against  man,  and  State  against  State.     He  must  form  a 
strange  notion  of  the  relative  condition  of  the  two  coun- 
tr.js,  who  does  not  see  that,  howrver  disastrously  Ireland 
might  and  would  be  affected  by  a  war  between  America  utid 
England,    the   chances   would  be  against  England  and  in 
f-avour  of  America— or,  in  other  words,  that  England  would 


I 


suffer  more  and  America  loss  from  such  a  contin 


>ency. 


622 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


Assnmmfv,  then,  tlmt  tho  feeling  of  the  Irish  in  An.erica 
agamst  England  n,ay  possibly  „r  probably,  sooner  or  later 
ead  to  an  en.broihnent,  a  rupture,  war-liow  is  EnKlan,! 
to  reaeh,  influence,  or  counteract  these  her  eayer,  watch- 
ful, vengeful  enen.ies  ?    But  through  one  channel-/,-,,*,,,,/. 
Ihe  Irish  in  America  are   entirely  boyoi.d  the  rea.ai  of 
Ji-nglana  ;  she  can  in  no  possible  way  control  or  cheek  the 
nianifestatiou  of  their  feelings  towards  her.     Nor   indcea 
IS  It  within  the  power  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
btates  to  do  so,  even  were  it  so  inclined-which  is  more 
than   doubtful.     By  laws  and  police-physical   power,   if 
you  wiU-you  may  suppress  a  visible  mid  tangible  organ- 
isation ;   but  neither  by  penalty  nor  punishment,   prose- 
cution nor  persecution,  can  you  reach  a  sentiment.     It  is 
impervious  to  lead  or  steel,  and  bonds  cannot  bind  it     You 
must  encounter  it  with  a  power  similar  to  its  own,  e„uaUv 
strong,  and  equally  unassailable   by  mere  material  force. 
And  the  pro  omul  belief,  which  Hcs  at  the  very  root  of  this 
hostility  and  gives  life  to  every  anti-British  organisation- 
t hat  Ireland  is  oppressed  and  impoverished  by  England ; 
tnat  England  hates  the  Irish  race,  and  would  exterminate 
them,  were  i    ,n  her  power,-this  profound  belief  can  only 
be  conquered  by  the  conviction  of  the  justice  and  wisdom 
of  Engand  asednbited  not  only  in  her  government  and 
m  her  legislation    but  in  the  prosperity  and  contentiueut 
of  Ii  eland.     Let  Ireland  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  spirit 
libera     and    confiding,    with    which  England    has    dealt 
with  her  colonies-respecting    the    rights    of    conscience 
through    the   most  complete   rehgious    equality,   and  the 
utmost    freedom  of    education.     Let  her  legislate    for  a 
country  almost  wholly  agi-icultnral,  and  which,  from  many 
causes,   natural  as  well  as   the  growth  of  circumstance" 
stands  in  relation  to  other  portions  of  the  Unit,.l  Kiu-dom 
in  an  entirely  excptional  position.  ,„  ,om.u-I,al  ,he\a,.e 
yml  whieh  ha.  ..i,.iracterised  her  policy-  in  refer,.„oe  to  tlie 
tenure  ot  land  iu  Lower  Canada,    where  she  sauctionoci 


THE  ONLi'  POSSIBLE  REMEDY. 


623 


risli  in  America 
sooner  or  liit,(ir, 
!iow  is  En<rljiii(l 
r  (>ii^^c]-,  wiitcli- 
liimwl—Jre/and. 
d  tho  rejich  of 
:'ol  or  check  the 
I*.     Nor   indeed 
l>  of  the  United 
-which  is  more 
sical   power,    if 
tiingiblo  organ- 
shment,   2>ro8e- 
Bntiment.     It  is 
't  bind  it.     You 
fcs  own,  equally 
material  force, 
ery  root  of  this 
organisation — 
1  by  England  ; 
Id  exterminate 
belief  can  only 
;e  and  wisdom 
)vernmcnt  and 
d  contentment 
he  same  spirit, 
nd    has    dealt 
of    conscience 
!ility,    and   tho 
:^gislato    for   a 
h,  from  many 
circumstances, 
lited  KijjgduiJi 
((•hat  the  mnie 
'fei-enco  to  the 
lie   sanctioned 


Hio  abolition  of  the  Seignorial  Rights  ;  in  Prince  lOdward's 
Island,  where,  while  sui)pri>s,sing  an  illegal  association,  tho 
representative  of  tho  British  Crown  proclaimcid  tlie  wisdom 
of  c(mverting  tenure  by  lease  into  tenure  l)y  freehold,  and 
the  determination  of  the  local  government  to  ellect  that 
change     by   tho   purchase     of     largo     estates,   princdpallv 
beh)ngiiig  to  absentees,  and  selHng  them  at  low  terms  to 
existing  occupiers  and  new  set  .     s  ;  or  in  India,  by  afford- 
ing security  of  tenure— that  most  potent  of  all  incentives 
to  human  industry— to   a  race  who  had  previously  been 
trampled  upon  and  oppressed.     Let  a  generous,  kindly,  and 
sympathetic  spirit  breathe  in  the  language  of  her  statesmen 
and  her  orators,  and  mark  the  writings  of  her  journalists. 
Let  there  be  an  end,  not  to  say  of  abuse  or  denimci-ition, 
but    of    that     tone     of    ofFensive     superiority    and     still 
more  offensive   toleration    and    condescension   which    too 
often     characterises     British     references   to    Ireland   and 
things  Irish.     Let  it  be  tho  honest,  earnest  desire  of  the 
English   people   to  lift   Ireland  up   to  their  own  level  of 
prosperity  and  contentment  ;  and  obhterate,  by  generous 
consideration     for  the   wants   of    her    people,   the   bitter 
memories  and  lurking  hate  which  tho  wrongs  of  centuries 
have   left   in   the  Irish   heart,   and   which   the  apathy  or 
neglect  of  recent  times  has  taken   httle  trouble  to  recog- 
nise.    Let   statesmen   and  ])arty-leaders  regard   this  ever 
present  and  stiU  unsettled  '  Irish  Question '  as  one  of  tho 
gravest  and  most  solemn  that  could  engage  the  attention 
and   employ  the  energies  of  a  wise  and  patriotic  Govern- 
ment  and   Parhament.      To   a  grander   task     or   a  more 
exalted  duty   than  the  solution   of  this  difficulty— the  re- 
moval of  that  great  scandal  which  the  state  of  Ireland, 
pohtical  and  material,  presents   to   the  civilised   world— 
neither  minister  nor  representative  could  devote  his  brain 
and  heart.     And  to  a  New  Parlitimont,  yet  to  spring,  as  it 
were,  from  the  generous  impulses  of  an  onfranchisful  nation, 
Uiay  we  hope  for  an  energy  and  an  enthusiasm  equal  to  aii 


624 


THE  IRISH  IN  AMERICA. 


emerf!foncy,  whoso  irnportancn  no  lanpfnago  can  fiillj  ropre- 
seiit  nuich  loss  exajjfgorato.  How  this  is  to  ho  dono,— 
whothcr  hy  and  thron«,di  tho  action  of  tho  Iniporial  Lo;/ia- 
laturc,  or  hy  ontnistin*,'  to  Ireland  a  certain  local  power, 
hy  which  sho  niio-ht  relievo  tho  Tarlianient  of  J^^n-^dand  of 
Horious  inconvenience  and  u.sefiilly  manage  much  of  her 
afliiirH,~it  is  for  tho  wisdom  of  statesraon,  inspired  by  a 
.  noblo  s(;nso  of  duty,  to  determine.  But  falt(!riii<r,  and 
hesitation,  and  delay  will  not  answer  ;  neither  will  tho  old 
system  of  wilful  blindness  and  wanton  self-dcslusion  suflico 
in  tho  face  of  actual  and  increasing  danger.  The  result,  if 
successful,  would  be  worth  any  ellbrt  or  any  trouble  ;  for 
once  alU)w  the  Irish  in  America  to  behove  that  a  brighter 
day  has  dawned  for  their  bretliren  in  tho  old  country'^'  and 
that  it  is  for  their  advantage  rather  to  be  linked  in  affection 
as  in  interest  with  Great  Britain,  than,  by  violent  effort 
and  tremendous  sacrifices,  desperately  seek  to  effect  a 
separation  of  tho  lesser  from  the  greater  country  ;  and  the 
feehng  of  bitter,  rancorous,  vengeful  hato  may  gradually 
soften  and  die  out,  and  eventually  fade  into  oblivion  like 
a  dream  of  tho  past.  But,  on  txie  other  hand,  let  con- 
tinued wails  of  distress  waft  their  mournful  accents  across 
the  ocean,  stirring  to  its  depths  the  heart  of  a  passionate 
and  impulsive  race  ;  aiul  though  Fenian  leaders  may  quar- 
rel or  betray,  and  Fenian  organisations  may  wither  or 
collapse,  there  must  be  perpetual  danger  to  the  peace,  the 
honour,  if  not  the  safety  of  England,  from  a  power  which 
it  is  i' .^possible  to  ignore,  and  madness  to  despise,— 


The  Irish  in  America. 


mn  fully  ropre- 
to  1)0  done, — 
^inporiiil  Tjo<tih- 
11  lociil  j)()\v(5r, 
of  Enjj^liiiKl  of 
I  much  of  lior 
,  inspired  by  a 
falt(!nn<^,  iiiid 
icr  will  tho  old 
l(!lnHioii  Buflico 
The  result,  if 
ly  trouble  ;  for 
hat  a  brighter 
d  country,  and 
:ed  in  affection 
violent  effort 
k  to  effect  a 
intry  ;  and  the 
may  gradually 
)  oblivion  like 
hand,  let  con- 
accents  across 
f  a  passionate 
lers  may  quar- 
nay  wither  or 
the  peace,  the 
a  power  which 
jj)ise, — 


APPENDIX. 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

BUliop  Li/ncJi'n  LeUer. 

Charleston,  S.  C,  Feb.  23, 1867. 

DKAtl  Sill, 

la  compliance  with  my  promise,  I  undertala;  to  give  you  a  brief 
ptatement  of  what  an  cmi<i;rant  may  look  ibr  who  comes  to  the 
Southern  States,  and  especially  to  South  Carolina,  with  the  hitentioii 
of  engaging  in  agriculture. 

This  State  may  be  divided  into  several  belts,  parallel  to  the  sea- 
coast,  each  one  of  which  has  its  peculiarities.  Tiie  first  belt,  next  to 
the  ocean,  is  that  of  the  Sea  Islands,  producing  tlie  finest  quality  of 
cotton,  and,  of  course,  vegetables  in  a))undance.  In  this  belt  the  heat 
is  great.  Frost  in  winter  is  almost  unknown.  Except  immediately 
on  the  sea-coast,  a  white  man  finds  himself  liable  to  fever.  Lands 
can  be  purchased  in  many  places  at  two  pounds  sterling  an  acre; 
perhaps  for  less. 

A  second  belt  noxt  to  this  one,  is  the  rice-field  belt.  It  is  inter- 
sected by  a  large  number  of  streams,  whose  waters,  though  fresh,  feel 
the  influence  of  the  tides,  and  rise  high  enough  to  overflow  vast 
bodies  of  low  lands  on  cither  side.  These  lands  are  devoted  to  the 
culture  of  rice,  for  which  much  irrigation  is  required.  Hence,  on  the 
whole,  this  belt  is  very  unhealthy,  being  subject  to  malarial  fevers. 

Both  of  those  belts  are,  and  will,  I  think,  for  a  long  time,  bo 
chiefly  occupied  by  negroes,  who  are  exempt  from  the  fevers  to  which 
the  while  man  i?  liable. 

A  third  belt,  broader  than  both  of  the  preceding  ones,  stretches  across 
the  State.  Tho  soil  is  good,  but  the  ground  lies  level,  and  is  not 
rlnuned.  Hence,  at  times,  the  crop  is  lost  by  too  much  water,  at  other 
times  withers  for  want  of  rain;  and  on  the  whole,  the  region  ia 
sickly.    Wore  it  thoroughly  and  systematically  drained,  which,  perhaps, 

^27 


i,- 


626 


APPENDIX. 


'I 

nl 

'4 
i 

% 

% 
J 

^1 


."01 


cotild  only  be  done    under    government    ujsplces,  it  would  bo  the 
garden  of  tlio  South. 

Here  landa  uuiy  bo  readily  bought  for  from  four  to  ten  shillings  aa 
acre. 

Anotiu'r  belt  follows,  of  equal  width.  The  land  is  more  rolling, 
the  Hoil  equally  sandy,  and  with  less  lime.  It  is  considered  poor.  But 
when  cultivated  with  ordinary  skill,  and  manures  are  freely  usod,  it 
will  produce  abundant  crops  of  cotton,  of  Indian  corn,  of  potatoes, 
and  of  all  root  crops  and  vegetables.  It  is  eminently  healthy,  and  I 
have  seim  enses  where  intelligent  and  skilful  labour  reaped  a  crop  of 
cotton  worth  ten  pounds  sterling  per  acre. 

A  single  man  may  cultivate  four  or  five  ticreg  in  cotton ;  three  or 
four  in  Indian  corn,  and  half  an  acre  for  a  kitchen  garden.  The 
Americans  know  little  of  the  use  of  manures,  and  umch  prefer  c\ilti- 
vating  lands  that  need  none,  fintil  they  become  worn  out,  when  they 
are  left  to  grow  iip  again  in  a  forest ;  and  other  fresh  landa  are  cleared 
and  cultivated. 

The  lands  of  this  fourth  belt  vary  Boraewhat  in  character,  in 
different  parts  of  the  State,  and  vary  in  prices.  But  much  of  it  can 
be  bought  at  from  two  to  ten  shillings  per  acre. 

A  filth  belt  comprises  lands  that  are  more  hilly  and  rolling  thaa 
the  preceding,  and  are  nearly  all  clay  lands.  They  were  occupied  by 
a  farming  population  many  years  ago,  and  having  been  long  cultivated 
with  little  or  no  manure,  and  often  in  a  very  rude  manner,  they  have 
lost  something  of  their  original  fertility.  Still  the  settlers  look  on 
them  as  more  productire  than  the  lands  I  have  last  spoken  of;  and 
doubtless  they  are  so  in  their  hands.  There  are  some  portions  of 
them  very  fertile  ;  and  these,  of  course,  are  held  at  high  prices.  But 
at  present,  lands  in  this  belt  may  be  bought  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  shillings  an  acre. 

Beyond  this  belt,  and  in  the  north-west  part  of  the  State,  com.-h 
the  mountainous  district;  which,  in  soil,  is  much  like  mountainous 
districts  of  any  other  country.  Meadows  and  table  lands  are  very 
rich,  yielding  excellent  crops  of  Indian  corn,  of  wheat,  and  dier 
cereals ;  and  the  whole  country  is  admirably  adapted  for  grazing.  I 
iim  not  able  to  say  what  is  the  average  price  of  land  in  this  belt. 
Immigrants  would,  I  think,  do  better  settling  on  the  fourth  or  filth 
belts,  where  land  can  easily  be  procured  at  the  prices  indicated,  payable 
on  time,  after  a  reasonable  credit ;  and  in  situations  perfectly  hoalthy, 
and  wh(!re  there  is  always  a  demand  for  agricultural  labourers,  and  a 
ready  access  to  market  for  the  sale  of  the  crop. 

An    immigrant    coming    to    this    State    finds    an    entirely    ditterent 
climate    from    that  which  he   has  left.      In  either  of   the  three  first 


it  would  be  the 

to  ten  Bhiliings  lui 

I  in  more  rolling', 
^iclerod  poor.  IJut 
aro  freely  used,  it 
corn,  of  potatoes, 
itly  lieultliy,  and  I 
reaped  a  crop  of 

Q  cotton  ;  tliree  or 
hen  garden.  The 
[utich  prefer  culti- 
irn  out,  when  they 
1  land3  aro  cleared 

in    character,  in 
ut  much  of  it  can 

and  rolling  than 
were  occupied  by 
en  long  cultivated 
manner,  they  have 
i  settlers  look  on 
it  spoken  of;  and 
some  portions  of 
high  prices.  But 
fifteen  to  twenty- 

the  State,  comes 
like   mountainous 

0  lands  are  v<My 
wheat,  and  <  ilier 
id  for  grazing.  I 
land  in  this  belt. 
he  fourth  or  filth 
indicated,  payable 

perfectly  healthy, 

1  labourers,  and  a 

entirely  ditferent 
)f   the  three  first 


APPENDIX. 


627 


belts  ho  will  l.c  lial)le,  unleHs  extremely  careful  not  to  expose  himself, 
to  attacks  of  fever  in  autumn;  though,  oven  In  these  belts,  mnw  com- 
paratively elevated  sp<,t,s  are  found  which  are  perfectly  healthy. 

In  the  fourth  belt  there  arc-  places  near  swamps  which  are  likewise 
unhealthy  ;  and  it  is  to  the  nuilaria  arising  from  swamps,  and  nut,  to 
the  heat  of  the  season,  that  the  fevers  are  to  be  attributed.  The 
greater  pc.rtion  of  the  State  Is  quite  health,  ;  and  the  t.eat  is  by  no 
means  so  great  as  to  prevent  men  labouring  even  twice  as  long  as 
Ihei.  crops  require.  In  point  of  fact,  the  crop  i.s  .s«'cure  by  llio  labour 
done  during  our  mild  winters,  and  in  spring  belbre  the  heats  of 
sumnuT  set  in;  and  the  ordinary  crops,  if  well  worked  in  time, 
require  only  a  slight  attention  after  the  middle  of  June.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  a  farmer  having  one  or  two  sons  to  aid  him,  and  aUle  to 
command  even  a  few  pouods  to  start  with,  would,  in  a  few  years,  find 
himself  worth  hundreds  of  pounds. 

Steps  are  being  taken  to  invite  immigrants  to  the  South,  and  to 
present  to  them  at  the  North  and  in  Ireland  tlie  special  advantages  of 
th  South.  Now  that  negro  slavery  has  beeu  abolish.'d,  the  negroes 
are  gradually  retiring  to  the  sea-coast.  The  lands  in  the  interior 
and  upper  bells,  which  I  have  recommended,  are  being  thrown  into 
market,  and  will  be  occupied  by  a  white  population.  It  is  desirable 
that  the  families  who  emigrate  should  settle  in  groups  near  each 
other.  IJy  so  doing,  they  will  secure  to  them.selves  a  social  com- 
panionship which  they  could  scarcely  have  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country  until  several  years'  acquaintance.  They  could  have  a 
church  and  priest  of  their  own,  and  Catholic  schools  for  their  chil- 
dren. 

This  invitation  to  emigrants  from  Ireland  is  but  a  repetition  of 
what  was  done  over  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  there  was  a  large 
immigration  of  Irish  Protestant  farmers  to  South  Carolina;  and  with 
them  must  have  coiue  many  Catholics,  who,  in  tho.se  days,  when 
there  was  neither  priest  nor  Catholicity  in  the  country,  soon  lost  tho 
Faith.  This  Irish  immigration  almost  took  possession  of  the  State. 
Irish  family  names  abound  in  every  rank  and  condition  in  life  ;  and 
there  are  few  men.  natives  of  the  State,  in  whose  veins  there  doe's  not 
run  more  or  less  of  Irish  blood. 

South  Carolina  is,  probably,  the  most  Irish  of  any  of  the  States  of 
the  Union. 

While  its  inhabitants  have  always  had  the  impetuous  character  of 
the  Irish  race,  nowhere  has  there  been  a  more  earnest  sympathy  for 
tho  struggles  of  Irishmen  at  home;  nowhere  will  the  Irish  immi- 
grant be  rf'ceived  with  greater  weleomo,  or  be  more  generously  sup- 
ported in  all  his  rights;  and  I  do  not  know  any  part  of  the  country 


628 


APPENDIX. 


4  * 


whore  industry  and  unhriehj  would  etiRiiro  to  thft  immigrant  who  •!> 
gajrcH   in    npricultmo    lui    lunple   oompcti'iu'e   lor  himscH'   and   titrnily 
witliin  u  brifli'r  iimiilMT  of  }«'iii.s. 

I  bcdiovo  that  all  lliosis  poliitn  will  bo  j)n'H»!iiti>(l  wltli  duo  details  to 
tlioso  who  wish  to  loiivo  Irolaiid  to  Itcttcr  tlioir  fortunoM  iu  Amorica, 
by  ;i  Hp(udal  ugt'ut  who  limy  bo  Hcntout;  and  also  that  proper  ariiinir*" 
HUMitH  will  likewise  Ixs  providetl  Cor  tlio  ])iishiijj;u  of  those  who  wisli  to 
emigrate  trom  Indand  direct  to  South  Caroliiiiu 

So  far  as  tho  ministrations  of  religion  to  those  who  come  are  con- 
cerned, I  have  hopes  that  if  thoy  soltlo  as  I  indicated,  In  groiipn,  they 
will  be  fully  provided  for. 
I  have  the  honour  to  bo,  my  dear  Sir,  with  preiit  respect, 
Your  obedient,  hiunble  servant, 

P.  N.  LVNOII.  I).  D., 
Bishop  of  Charleston. 
J.  P.  Maoiuiik,  Esq.,  M.  P. 

Cork,  Ireland.  , 


f 

■I 

f 

1 
5 


■m 


< 


"SSM 


THE  LAND. 

Information  for  Emigrants. 

Department  of  the  liitcrior  neneral  Land  Otflce, 

Washington,  I).  C.     December  2 1,  1866. 

Stii. — I  have  the  honour  to  acknowledfce  the  receipt  of  your  letter 
o  the  11th  instant,  enclosing  one  of  24th  Novemb(!r  (iiUimo)  addresscid 
to  yon  by  G.  M.  Allender,  of  tlie  Farmer's  Club,  Salisbury  Square, 
LtvUdon. 

Ifour  correspondent  states,  that  a  class  of  persons  in  Rngland,  con- 
Bisting  of  small  farmers,  or  sons  of  farmers,  with  small  capital,  desire 
to  come  to  America,  but  are  deterred  lor  want  of  information ;  that  a 
feeling  prevails  among  this  class,  that  all  the  best  lands  and  positions 
are  secured  by  speculators,  and  that  it  is  only  poor  land'5,  badly  situated, 
that  can  be  obtained  at  the  government  price  of  SI. 26  per  acre — tlio 
followlug  questions  in  this  connection  being  presented  : — 

1st.  In  what  States  can  good  land,  well  situated,  still  bo  obtained  at 
the  price  of  $1.25  per  acre  ? 

I  send  herewith  a  map,  showing  what  are  called  the  'Public  Land 
States,'  and  territories  of  the  United  States,  and  in  reply  to  tliis 
question,  state,  that  such  lands  may  be  had  cast  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  in  the  upper  and  lower  peninsula  of  Michigan,  in  Wisconsin,  iu 


nmlKrant  who  tm 
rn.siMt'   and   tiifiiily 

Itll  duo  details  to 
tiiiu's  ill  Aincrica, 
lit  proper  uriiiiiire- 
llioHo  vvIm)  wisli  ti) 

ln)  come  aro  cou- 
ld, In  groiipH,  they 

l)CCt, 

C^II.  I).  D., 
of  Charleston. 


land  Offlce, 
ciuber  'li,  1866. 

ipt  of  your  letter 
^iillimo)  addresscid 
Salisbury  Square, 

in  Kugland,  con- 
all  capital,  desire 
ilbnnatiou ;  that  a 
nds  and  positions 
(U,  badly  situated, 
.26  per  acre — tlie 

lill  bo  obtained  at 

the  'Public  Land 
in  reply  to  tliis 
of  the  Mississippi 
,  in  Wisconsin,  iu 


APPENDIX. 


699 


the  profit  States  wost  of  tho  MisHlssippi,  of  i\flnne.sota,  Towa,  Mfflsourl, 
Kansas,  iind  in  Nebrasl<ii.  und  that  on  tho  Pacidc  slope,  o.vtensivs 
bodjes  of  public  lands  have  been  surveyed  and  are  open  to  settlenu'ut 
in  the  States  of  (California,  Oregon.  an<l  in  the  tt^rritory  of  VVashiiiKton. 
Tl  e  great  mineral  bearing  State  Nevada,  lying  cast  of  and  contiguous 
to  California,  is  open  to  actual  settlement,  and  there  the  public  sur- 
veys lire  in  progress. 

Returning  east  of  tho  Mississippi,  the  whole  public  land  surface 
there  will  bo  found  surveyed  and  subdivided  in  tracts  us  small  as 
forty  acres  each,  which  in  eighty  aero  tracts  can  be  taken  under  tho 
Homestead  Law,  in  the  States  of  Florida.  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Loui- 
siana, and  Arkansas. 

Then  the  territories  of  Dakota,  Colorado,  Now  Mexico,  and  Arizona, 
are  open  to  settlement. 

The  territory  of  Llaho  has  just  been  organised  into  a  land  district, 
whilst  Utah  and  Montana  are  yet  to  be  subjected  to  that  organi- 
sation. 

2/K?.  Must  lands  so  obtained  be  paid  for  immediately  ? 

In  order  that  lands  maybe  j)laced  in  the  class  of  those  ^subject  to 
sale  at  private  entry, ^  they  must  have  been  first  offered  at  public 
auction,  and  thereafter,  if  not  disposed  of  at  public  sale,  are  liable  at 
the  time  of  application  to  be  paid  for,  either  in  cash,  or  with  military 
land  scrip,  or  bounty  land  warrants  at  the  rate  of  $1.2.')  per  acre,  for 
the  number  of  acres  represented  on  the  face  of  a  warrant  or  scrip. 

The  minimum  price  of  offered  lands  is  SI. 25  per  acre,  unless  that 
minimum  shall  have  been  doubled  by  reason  of  tho  construction  of 
some  public  work,  as  an  internal  improvement  such  as  railroads,  and 
which  materially  increases  the  value  of  the  lands  in  its  vicinity  ;  but 
even  where  there  are  United  States  reserved  or  $  2. .50  per  acre  sections, 
homestead  entries,  to  the  extent  of  eighty  acres  each,  may  be  made  by 
citizens  or  those  who  have  declared  tlu^ir  intentions  to  become  such. 

?>rd.  Would  a  c«'rtain  adjoining  district  be  reserved,  say  for  a  year 
or  two,  so  that  there  might  be  time  to  call  tho  attention  of  persons 
hero  to  that  special  district? 

It  is  not  the  policy  of  tho  government  to  withdraw  lands  once 
olTered  at  public  sale  from  entry,  unless  to  subserve  some  important 
public  interest,  such  as  the  building  of  lines  of  railroads,  to  connect 
eentr(;s  of  trade,  or  some  other  interest  of  like  importance  ;  nor  indeed 
is  it  necessary  to  do  so,  as  tracts  varying  from  forty  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  or  even  larger  size,  can  be  had  in  some  of  the  land 
States  or  territories  where  the  surveys  have  been  extended,  and  offices 
are  open  for  tho  sale  of  such  lands. 

In  regard  to  tho  apprehension  that  all  the  best  lan'ds  and  positions 


ft 
d 


3 

'at 

<9 


63C 


APPENDIX. 


had  already  been  disposed  of,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  in  the  older 
settled  land  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  the  public  lands, 
generally,  have  been  disposed  of  to  actual  settlers;  but  in  other  States 
hereinbefore  mentioned,  tracts  to  an  immense  extent  of  good  land 
well  situated  may  be  obtained.  In  the  States  of  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
A  iscon.sin  Missouri,  and  Kansas,  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
mer,  m  the  State  of  Michigan,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes,  in 
California  and  Oregon  on  the  Pacific,  and  in  the  territories  of  Wash- 
i..g  an  and  Nebraska  large  bodies  of  good  land,  both  prairie  and  timber, 
are  now  mhjed  to  sale  at  private  entry  at  $1.25  per  acre;  and  in  the 
five  first-mentioned  States,  anu  in  Nebraska,  the  soil  and  climate  are 
held  to  be  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  such  stock  as  is  alluded 
to  by  your  correspondent. 

Thore  are  also  good  lands  well  situated  in  Arkansas,  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Florida ;  but  in  those  States,  the  public  lands 
are  on/y  subject  to  entry  under  the  Homestead  Act,  approved  June  21, 

I  am,  with  great  respect, 
'  Your  Obedient  Servant, 

i^'^Sne^)  JOS.  S.  WILSON, 

Commissioner 
Hon.  R.  S.  CniLTON, 
Commissioner  of  Immigration, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


SiK, 


Department  of  the  Interior  General  Land  Office, 
September  25,  18G7. 


Agreeably  to  the  request  in  your  letter  of  the  17th,  I  enclose 
bere«-iih  a  copy  of  the  Homestead  Law.  I  also  send  you  a  list  of  the 
local  land  offices  in  Michigan,  AVisconsin,  Minnesota.  Iowa.  Missouri. 
Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  and  on  application  to  either  of  these  offices, 
you  will  receive  all  needed  information  relative  to  the  entry  of  an,y 
lands  subject  to  entry,  under  the  Homestead  Law.  and  situated  in  the 
district  where  the  land  office  to  which  you  apply  is  located. 

Very  respectfully, 

JOS.  SMESIN, 
Cominissioner. 

MICHIGAN. 
Detroit,  East  Saginaw,  Ionia,  Marquette,  Traverse  City, 


APPENDIX. 


631 


that  in  the  older 
'he  public  Junds. 
it  in  other  States 
nt  of  good  land 
Minnesota,  Iowa, 
r  the  Mississippi 
le  great  lakes,  in 
[•ritories  of  Wash- 
rairie  and  timber, 
acre;  and  in  the 
and  climate  are 
tock  as  is  alluded 

nsas,  Mississippi, 
the  public  lands 
•proved  June  21, 

ect, 

Servant, 
5.  WILSON, 
missioner 


WISCONSIN. 

Menasha,  Falls  of  St.  Croix,  Stevens'  Point,  La    Crosse,  Bayfield, 
Eau  Claire. 

MINNESOTA. 

Taylor's  Falls,    St.  Cloud,  Winnebago  Gity,    St.  Peter,    Greenleaf, 
Du  Luth. 

IOWA. 

Fort  Dea  Moines,  Council  Bluffs,  Fort  Dodge,  Sioux  City. 

MISSOURI. 

Boonville,  Ironton,  Springfield. 

KANSAS. 

Topeka,  Junction  City,  Humboldt. 

APtKANSAS. 

Little  Rock,  Washington,  Clarksville. 

NEBRASKA  T. 

Omaha  City,  Brownsville,  Nebraska  City,  Dakota  City. 

An  Act  to  secure  Homesteadii  to  Actual  Settlers  on  the  Puhlic 

Domain. 


ral  Land  OflSce, 

G7. 

17th,  I  enclose 
on  a  list  of  the 
Iowa.  Missouri, 
of  these  offices, 
le  entry  of  any 
situated  in  the 
■d. 

y. 

3MESIN, 

issioner. 


Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  astt«mhled,  Tliat  any  person  who 
is  the  head  of  a  fiimily,  or  who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  and  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  Avho  shall  have  filed 
his  declaration  of  intention  to  become  such,  as  required  by  the  natura- 
lization laws  of  the  United  States,  and  who  has  never  borne  arms 
against  the  United  States  Government  or  given  aid  and  comfort  to  its 
enemies,  shall,  iVom  and  after  the  first  January,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  be  entitled  to  enter  one  quarter  section  or  a  less  quantity  of 
unappropriated  public  lands,  upon  which  said  person  may  have  filed  a 
pre-emption  claim,  or  which  may,  at  the  time  the  application  is  made, 
be  subject  to  p,re-emption  at  one  dollar  »nd  twenty-five  cents,  or  less, 
per  acre ;  or  eighty  acres  or  less  of  such  unappropriated  lands,  at  two 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre,  to  be  located  in  a  body,  in  conformity 
to  the  legal  subdivisions  of  the  public  lands,  and  after  the  same  shall 
have  been  surveyed  :  Provided,  That  any  person  owning  and  residing 
on  land  iniiy,  under  the  provisions  of  tliis  act.  enter  other  land  lying 
contiguous  lo  his  or  her  said  land,  which  shall  not,  with  the  land  so 
already  owned  and  occupied,  exceed  in  the  aggregate  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres. 


■I! 


1 


f 
) 
f  r 


632 


APPENDIX. 


Sec.  2.  ylnrZ  &e  ii  further  enacted.  That  Iho  person  applying  for  the 
benont  or  this  act  shall,  upon  application  to  the  rof^ister  of  the  land 
0(1.00  ,n  vvhic-h  ho  or  she  is  about  to  make  snch  entry.  ,„ake  allhlavit 
bef,,re  the   said   reo-istcr  or  receiver  that  he  or  she  is   the  head  of  a 
family,  or  is  twenty-one  or  more  years  of  a-e,  or  shall  hav(.  performe.l 
service   in   (ho   army   or   navy  of  the  United   States,  and  that  he  has 
never  borne   arms   against  the   Government   of  the   United   States   or 
given  aid  and  comfort  to  its  enemies,  and  that  snch  application  is  made 
lor  his  or  her  exclusive  use  and  benefit,  and  that  said  entry  is  made 
for  (he  purpose  of  actual  settlement  and  cultivation,  and  not    either 
directly  or  imliivelly,  for  (he  use  or  benefit  of  any  other  persons  or 
persons  w]iomso(.ver  ;  and  upon  filing  the  said  affidavit  with  the  register 
or  receiver,  and   on  paym,>nt  of  ten  dollars,  he  or  she  shall  (hereupon  be 
Ponmtted  to   enter  the  quandty  of  land  specific,!:   Provnied,  however, 
J  hat  no  cert.llcate  shall  be  given  or  patent  issued  therefor  until  the 
expiration  of  five   years   from   the   date  of  such  entry;   and  if,  at  the 
expiration  of  such  (ime,  or  at  any  other  time  wiihin  two  years  there- 
after,  the  i,erson  make  such  entry_or  if  he  be  dead,  his  widow  ;   or 
In   case   of   her   death,   his   heirs  or   devisee  ;    or  in  case   of  a   widow 
making  such  entry,  her  heirs  or  devisee,  in  case  of  her  death-shall 
prove  by  two  credible  witiu^ses  that  he,  she,  or  they  have  resided  upon 
01  cu  tivated  the  same  for  the  term  of  five  years  immediately  succeed- 
ng  the  time  of  filing  the  affi.lavit  aforesaid,  and  shall  make  affidavit 
hat  no  part  of  said  land  has  been  alienated,  and  that  he  has  borne 
true  allegiance  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States;  (hen   in   suoh 
case    he,  she,  or  they,  if  at  any  time  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  patent,  as  in  other  cases  provided  for  bylaw- 
And  provided,  further,  That  in   case  of  the  death  of  both   fath/r   ami 
mother,  leaving  an   infant  child,  or   children  under    twenty-one   years 
0     age,   the   right  and   fee   shall   ensure   to   (he   benefit   of  said  infant 
child   or  children  ;   and  the  executor,  administrator  or  guardian  may, 
at  any  time  w.  ain  two  years  after  the  death  of  the  surviving  parent, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the   State  in  which  snch  children 
for   the  tune   being  have   (heir   domicil,  sell   sai.l  land  for  the   benefit 
of  said   infants,    but  for   no  other  purpose;   and   (he   purchaser   shall 
acquire  (he   absolute  title  by  the  purchase,  and  bo  entitled  to  a  patent 
Irom   (he  Lnited   States,   on   paynnrnt   of  the   oiBce   fees   and   sum  of 
money  herein  specified. 

Skc.  3.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  the  register  of  the  land  offien 

siiall   note  all  snch  applications  on  the  tract  books  and  plats  of  his 

ofiice,  and  keep  a  register  of  all  such  entries,  and  make  return  then-of 

0  the  General  Land  Office,  together  with  the  proof  upon  which  they 

have  been  founded. 


APPENDIX. 


638 


applying  for  the 
ister  of  the  huul 
y.  miike  iididuvit 
H   tlic  liciid  of  a 

have  jtcrfonued 
and  that  ho  lias 
IiiUed  States  or 
lication  is  made 
1  entry  is  jnado 

and  not,  eitiior 
other  persons  or 
with  the  register 
all  thereupon  be 
'ovided,  however, 
erefor  until  tiio 
;  and  if,  at  tlie 
Iwo  years  there- 

his  widow  ;  or 
ise  of  fi  widow 
ler  death— shall 
VQ  resided  upon 
Jiately  succeed- 

make  affidavit 

it  he  has  borne 

;  then,  in   such 

United  States. 
ed  for  by  law  : 
oth  father  and 
enty-one   years 

of  said  infant 
guardian  may, 
rviving  parent, 
I  such  children 
for  the  benefit 
(urchaser  shall 
led  to  a  patent 
3  and  sum  of 

the  land  officd 
id  plats  of  his 
leturii  thereof 
ou  which  they 


Seo.  4.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  no  lands  acquired  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  in  any  event  become  IhihW,  lo  the  satis- 
faction  of  any  debt  or  debts  contracted  prior  to  the  issuing  ot  the 
patent  therefor. 

Sec.  f).  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  if  at  any  time  after  the 
filing  of  tiie  aflldavit,  as  recjiiired  in  tiie  second  section  of  this  act, 
and  before  the  expiration  of  the  five  years  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  ])roveii, 
after  due  notice  to  tlie  settler,  to  the  satisfaction  of  tlu;  regist<'r  of  the 
land  office,  that  the  person  having  filed  such  affidavit  shall  have 
actually  changed  his  or  her  residence,  or  abandoned  the  said  land  for 
more  than  six  months  at  any  time,  then  and  in  that  event  the  land 
80  entered  shall  revert  to  the  (Jovernment. 

Skc.  6,  And  he  it  farther  enadcd,  Tliat  no  individual  shall  l)e  per- 
mitt(!(l  to  acquire  title  to  more  than  one  quarter  sctction  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act;  and  that  the  Commissioner  of  the  (General 
Land  0(1'  's  hereby  required  to  prepare  and  issue  sucii  rules  and 
regulations,  ooiisistent  with  tliis  act.  as  shall  be  necessaiy  and  proper 
to  carry  its  provisions  intoelfect;  and  that  the  registers  and  receivers 
of  the  several  land  offices  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  sauK^  com- 
pensation for  any  lands  entered  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  tliat 
they  are  now  entitled  to  receive  when  the  same  quantity  of  land  is 
entered  with  money,  one  half  to  be  i)aid  by  the  person  making  the 
application  at  the  time  of  so  doing,  and  the  other  half  on  the  issue  of 
the  certificate  by  the  person  to  whom  it  may  be  issued  ;  but  this  shall 
not  be  construed  to  (uilarge  the  maximum  of  compensation  now  pre- 
scribed by  law  for  any  register  or  rectnver:  Fromdi-d,  That  nothino- 
contained  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  imjjair  or  interferi^  in 
any  manner  whatever  with  existing  pre-emption  rights:  And  provided, 
further.  That  all  persons  who  may  have  filed  their  applicatiims  for  a 
pre-emption  right  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  privileges  of  this  act:  rrovided,  further.  That  no  person  who  has 
served,  or  may  her(!after  serve,  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  fourteen 
days  iif  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States,  either  regular  or 
volunteer,  under  the  laws  thereof,  during  the  existence  of  an  actual 
war,  domestic  or  foreign,  shall  bo  deprived  of  the  benefits  of  this 
act  on  account  of  not  having  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

Skc.  7.  And  he  it  farther  enacted,  That  the  fifth  section  of  the  act 
entitled  'An  act  in  addition  to  an  act  more  eO'cetually  to  provide  for 
l!ie  punishment  of  certain  crimes  against  the  United  States,  and  for 
other  purposes,'  approved  the  thir<l  of  March,  in  the  year  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-seven,  shall  extend  to  all  oaths,  affirmations,  and 
affidavits,  required  or  authorised  by  this  act. 

Sue.  8.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  nothing  in  this  act  .shall  be 


«3i 


APPENDIX. 


BO  construed  an  to  prevent  any  person  who  has  availed  him  or  herself 
of  the  benefits  of  the  first  section  of  this  act  from  paying  the  minimum 
price,  or  the  price  to  which  the  same  may  have  graduated,  for  the 
quantity  of  land  so  entered  at  any  time  before  the  expiration  of  the 
five  years,  and  obtaining  a  patent  tlierefor  IVom  the  Government,  as 
in  other  cases  provided  by  law,  on  mailing  proof  of  settlement  i.ud 
cultivation  as  provided  by  existing  laws  granting  pre-emption  rights. 
Approved  May  20,  18G2. 


n 

> 

asm 


SLAVERY. 

It  has  been  frequently  said  that  the  Irish  in  America  were,  as  a 
rule,  in  favour  of  slavery.  Were  it  said  that  they  were,  as  a  rule, 
against  slavery,  the  statement  would  be  much  nearer  to  the  truth.  I 
never  heard  an  Irishman  in  a  Northern  State  say  one  word  in  its 
favour.  Some  with  whom  I  spyke  wefe  enthusiasL'.v.  approvers  of  its 
extinction  at  any  cost  or  sacrifice,  as  purging  the  country  of  a  great 
evil,  if  not  a  great  sin ;  while  others,  less  enthusiastic,  or  more  re- 
fhcting,  held  that  its  gradual  extinction  would  have  been  wiser,  more 
politic,  and  not  lilvely  to  produce  the  difficulties  and  embarrassments 
which  suddcm  emancipation  was  but  too  certain  to  create ;  not  alone 
because  the  Slave-owning  Stat(!S  w^ere  unprepared  for  so  sweeping  a 
revolution,  but  that  the  slave  himself  was  unsuited  to  the  abrupt; 
cessation  of  all  restriction  or  control  whatever.  These  Irishmen 
regretted  the  existence  of  slavery,  ;uid  justly  regarded  it  as  a  fatal 
legacy  left  by  England  to  the  people  of  America  ;  but  they  were 
rather  in  favour  of  gradual,  yet  inevitable  change,  than  of  violent  or 
recl\ie.ss  revolution.  I  repeat.  I  never  heard  an  Irishman  in  a  Northern 
State  speak  in  favour  of  slavery  as  an  institution. 

Then  as  to  Irisiimen  in  the  South;  I  must  equally  assert,  that  I 
never  heard  an  Irishman  in  a  Southern  State,  not  to  say  ap^,  ove 
of,  but  justify  slavery.  Southern  Irishmen  believed,  perhap'.  more 
strongly  than  their  countrymen  in  the  North,  that  neither  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country  nor  the  character,  capacity  nor  training  of  tlio 
negro  was  suited  to  sudden  emancipation  ;  but  they  at  the  same  tinie 
expressed  themselves  as  having  always  been  in  favour  of  gradual  p:i.! 
prudent  abolition  — the  final  extinction  of  tliat  which  they  felt  tc  <»« 
a  cause  of  grave  social  injury  and  national  weakness,  and  likew  isc  ■' 
fruitful  source  of  political  trouble,  possibly  ultimate  convulsion  15'it 
these  Southern  Irishmen  took  their  s*and  on  the  fundamental  principle 
of  State  Sovereignty,  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  and  denied  that 
Congrt^ss  hatl  any  right  whatever  to  inter.^ere  with  the  ii'stitutions  of 


APPENDIX. 


635 


ed  him  or  herself 
'ing  the  minimum 
gmduated,  for  the 
expiration  of  tli« 
!  Government,  as 
3f  settlement  und 
(mption  rights. 


Tierica  were,  as  a 
were,  as  a  rule, 
?r  to  the  truth.    I 
one  word  in   its 
^  approvers  of  its 
;onntry  of  a  great 
istic,  or  more  re- 
been  wiser,  more 
d  embarrassments 
create ;  not  alone 
for  so  sweeping  a 
ed   to    the   abrupt 
These    Irishmen 
rded  it  as  a  fatal 
;   but    they   wero 
than  of  violent  or 
man  in  a  Northern 

illy  assert,  that  I 
;  to  say  ap^/jve 
ed,  perhap',  more 
either  the  circuin- 
lor  training  of  the 
at  the  same  time 
ur  of  gradual  !'■:.; 
;h  tliey  felt  to  ixs 
5S,  and  likewise  ■' 
!  couvnlsion.  Bat 
lamental  principle 
lu,  and  denied  that 
the  ii'stitutions  of 


Individual  States.  They  held,— and  in  this  they  had  the  sympathy  of 
a  vast  number  of  their  countrymen  in  the  North, — that  .he  eumnci- 
pation  of  the  slave,  especially  regarding  it  in  its  present  results,  was 
hardly  worth  the  torrents  of  generous  blood  shed  in  its  accomplish- 
ment. Still,  they  are  satisfied  at  seeing  an  end  to  a  cause  of  weakness 
and  contention  between  dillerent  portions  of  the  Union,  thougli  lliey 
know  the  South  has  to  pass  through  some  further  tribulation  before 
things  can  settle  down  into  perfec    order  and  tranquillity. 

This  is  the  result  of  ray  information  on  this  point,  derived  Irom 
unreserved  communication  with  Irishmen  at  both  sides  of  the  line. 

And  as  to  the  policy  of  the  Catholic  Church  with  respect  to  slavery. 
I  cannot  do  better,  than  subjoin  the  following  interesting  communi- 
cation from  an  eminent  ecclesiastic,  who  affords  as  much  information 
upon  the  subject  as  I  can  venture  to  press  into  this  note. 

Bishop  ICngland  wrote  a  series  of  letters  on  Domestic  Slavery,  in 
which  he  undertakes  to  show  the  position  of  the  Catholic  Church  on 
that  question.  The  'abolitionist'  ^>arty  had  then  caused  great  ex- 
citement at  the  South.  "llm^  v.ere  resisted  on  two  groui.ds:  first, 
because  the  interference  of  otlier  States,  or  of  Congress,  in  that 
question  would  have  been  subversive  of  the  American  system  of 
government,  the  question  being  one  of  those  reserved  to  the  authority 
of  each  Stiite.  which  on  such  a  point  was  sovereign.  To  try  inter- 
ference with  them  from  without  their  own  Slates  would  have  been  an 
invasion  of  their  rights,  as  much  as  if  it  had  been  done  by  the  Dritish 
Parliament.  Second,  because  emancipation,  evwn  if  desirable,  should 
be  conducted  with  "precautions  which  the  Abolitionists  were  unwilling 
to  listen  to. 

Besides  those  who  resisted  him  on  these  grounds,  there  were,  of 
COUTH',  n  ny  who  defended  slavi-ry  as  in  itself  a  desirable  condition 
of  things.  vsfKicially  for  tlie  coloured  race. 

Bishop  P^ngland  did  not  belong  to  the  latter  class;  and  iu  a  note  to 
the  last  letter  of  tiie  series  alluded  lo  he  defines  his  position  as 
follows.  He  was  obliged  to  interrupt  the  course  ol"  letters  h(>  intended 
publishing,  andon  tlu^  'iard  of  April,  IS  10,  he  writes  as  follows  ti)  the 
editors  of  the  'United  States  Catholic  Miscellany,'  in  which  tlu'y  weie 
])ublished  : — 

'  (ientl«men, — My  more  pressing  duties  will  not  permit  me  for  some 
'weeks  to  continue  the  letters  on  tlie  coni[)atibi'.ii y  of  domestic  slavery 
'  will)  practical  religion.  I  have  been  asked  by  many  a  question  which 
'1  mny  as  well  answer  at  once,  viz.  Whether  I  am  friendly  to  the 
'existence  or  continuatioi!  of  slavery  ?  I  am  not.  lint  I  also  see  the 
'  inipossibilily  of  now  abolishing  it  here.  When  it  can  and  ought  to 
*  bo  abolished,  is  a  ([uestion  ibr  the  legislature,  and  not  for  me.'  (:jco 
his  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  1!)0.) 

Any  one  acqu*inted  with  the  slate  of  feeling  on  this  subject  iu 
Charleston  at  tlie  time,  cannot  but  feel  that  a  great  aino  mt  of  courage 
was  necessary  to  say  even  that  much. 


iS6 


APPENDIX. 


'«« 


m 


On  Ills  return  from  Europo  somo  time  aftor.  ho.  informed  ono  of  hia 
iiiOHt  intnnat(^  iriciidH.  that  lu;  intended  rosnniinjr  tiie  subject,  and 
Bliowinj^  wliiit  were  the  rij/ils  of  sitives,  us  Ciiristians  and  as  men, 
Avliat  were  tlie  (J>il!rs  of  masters  ;  and  ilnd  li((  intended  ;j;ivin<>'  the 
f^lavM'Iiolders  a  lecture,  sneli  as  tliey  never  bad  received  before.  Jn  tlie 
{iiiblislu'd  letters  In;  was  anxious  to  show  them  that  the  Catlndic 
(Mmrch  had  never  decdared  the  lioldin;?  of  slaves  to  be  in  itself  sinful  ; 
that  the  Kncvclical  Letter  of  (;re<>ory  XVI.,  which  had  ^'wi'ix  rise 
to  the  controversy,  condemiu'd  the  capture  of  free  men,  and  takiiijjf 
them  unjustly  into  slavery,  as  Avar  had  done  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
but  did  not  affect  domestic  slavery  under  all  circumstances.  His  in- 
tention was  to  show  what  rii,dits  tlu!  slave  necessarily  retained,  which 
masters  and  lejiislaturcs  were  bound  to  resjiect  and  to  protect;  and 
haviiijjj  first  cleared  himself  from  the  charge  of  abelilionism  in  its 
political  meaning'  as  then  understood,  he  intended  to  be  frank  and 
full  in  this  subject.  It  is  to  be  re,i,n'etted  that  sickness,  and  then 
death,  prevented  the  carryiuii;  out  of  this  idea.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
he  would  liave  been  a  powerful  advocate  of  the  poor  slave  in  his 
rijxhls  us  to  personal  protection,  and  religious  liberty,  and  in  his  family 
relations,  redueing  the  master's  claims  merely  to  his  labour,  for  which 
comi)ensation  was  given  in  food,  clothing,  ttc. ;  and  even  tin;  system 
that  denied  him  the  power  of  disposing  of  them  as  he  pleased,  would 
have  been  shown  fraught  with  many  evils,  and  a  change  loudly  called 
for  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  admit  of  it. 

I  would  refer  to  two  other  facts,  showing  the  position  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  flm  Houlh  with  regard  to  slavery.  One  was  a 
sermon  preached,  I  think,  in  New  Orleans,  while  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy was  at  the  moment  of  its  highest  prospect  of  success,  by 
Bishop  Verot  of  Savannah,  lie  first  undertook  to  jjrove  that  slavery 
was  not  essentially  sinful,  and  he  answered  the  objection  made  against 
it.  IJiit  then  he  went  on  to  show  in  what  condition  it  could  be  tole- 
rated amongst  Christians.  He  showed  whal  were  the  rights  of 
Blaves,  and  the  obligations  of  masters,  in  a  manner  which  would  have 
dei)rived  it  of  its  chief  horrors.  This  during  the  reign  of  the  Con- 
federacy ! 

During  the  same  time  Bishop  I\I-(jill  published  a  book  at  Richmond, 
in  wiiich  he  stated  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the  calamities  \inder  which 
the  country  was  suffering  might  be  attributed  to  a  chastisement  of 
Heaven  for  the  manner  in  which  the  slaves  were  left  unprotected  in. 
their  marriage  relations. 


ESSENTIAL  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FOEEION  ELE- 
MENT TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


It  may  be  of  some  advantage  to  exhibit  the  inip.ulance  of  the 
foreign  element  to  the  American  iJepublic,  not  alone  in  developing 
the  general  resources  of  the  country,  and  assisting  to  occupy  and 
populate,  and  thus  make  valuable,  new  territories ;  but  to  preserve 


APPBNDIX. 


631 


irmed  ono  of  hia 
li(!  subject,  and 
ns  and  us  nicii, 
ided    ;j;iviii<>'   t!io 

before.  Jii  tlie 
it  the  ('atliolic 
'  in  itt^eir  sinful  ; 
Imd  given  rise 
neii,  and  tiikinj^ 
coast  of  Africa, 
tances.  His  in- 
retained,  wliich 
to  protect ;  and 
•lilionism  in  its 
()  l)e  franlv  and 
iness.  and  tlieii 
I  no  donbt  tliat 
or  slave  in  his 
nd  in  his  family 
ihonr.  for  whicii 
.)ven    I  he  system 

pleased,  would 
;e  loudly  called 

position  of  the 
y.     One   was  a 

Southern  Con- 

of  success,  by 
ve  that  slavery 
n  made  aj^-ainst 
;  could  be  tole- 

the  rijjhts  of 
ich  would  have 
yn  of  the  Con- 
ic at  Kichmond, 
es  under  which 
hastisemeut   of 

unprotected  iu 


EIGN  ELE- 
MEKICA. 

i»rl;iiice    of  the 

in    devclopiiip; 

to    occupy    and 

ut  to  preserve 


from  pradual  decay,  from  annual  wasting  awaj  frcm  eventual  and 
absolute  extinction,  communities  which  w((re  at  one  lime  hostih.  t,,  the 
foreio;ner.  and  even  liaiij,'htily  inii)atient  of  his  pres.<Mice.  This  absurd 
hostility  to  the  foreij,nier  was  more  prevalent  in  the  New  JJijriaiid 
Stales  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  Union  ;  and  in  Massaehus.'tla 
various  'isms'  of  the  Native-American  stamp,  almost  invariably  op- 
posed  to  the  stranger,  have  had  their  origin.  And  yet  it  is  beyond 
doubt  that,  only  for  the  foreign  elcmc  .t,  or  the  infusion  of  life-ldood 
into  the  failing  system  of  this  most  prominent  of  thes.;  New  England 
Stales,  its  -population  would  liave  dwindled  away,  and,  practically, 
would  have  given  up  the  ghost!  This,  no  doubt,  is  a  very  startlin.' 
announcement,  if  true.  IJut  is  it  true?  It  is  indisputable,  there 
cannot  be  a  doubt  as  to  its  truth. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities,  in  liis  Third  Annual 
Rcpoi't,  dated  October  180(1,  makes  use  of,  and  incorporates  with  the 
first  part  of  that  lieport.  a  document  to  which  he  attaches  evident 
importance.  It  ibrms  a  portion  of  the  Fourth  Chapter,  and  is  lleaded 
'Inferences  from  Registration  and  Census  Reports.'  The  paper  in 
question  is  thus  introduced  :— 

'In  closing  this  part  of  my  Report,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  avail 
^myself  of  the  studies  of  a  member  of  this  IJoard.  formerly  its  Chair- 
'  man,  aiul  now  the  Chairman  of  its  Committee  on  Statistics  The 
'patient  uivesliguli„ns  whicii  Dr.  Allen  has  been  making  for  years  in 
^regard  to  the  increase  of  population  in  Massachusetts,  have 'led  him 
'to  some  conclusions  which  to  many  a])i)ear  novel  and  startlni"-  while 
^'others  recognise  them  as  familiar  to  the  course  of  their  own  tl7ou<'lits. 
'At  my  request,  he  has  allowed  me  to  cite  from  his  manuscripts"' the 
•  lollowing  passages.' 

Unfortunately  there  is  not  space  remaining  to  do  full  justice  to  one 
of  the  m.)st  remarkable  and  suggestive  papers  over  presented  to  the 
American  iruuliv,  but  a  "ew  extracts  from  it  will  be  sufiicient  to  show 
how  essential  to  the  progress— na?/,  the  very  life— of  the  New  England 
States  is  their  foreign,  in  other  words,  their  Irish  population. 

The  increase  in  these  ten  years  o*'  those  born  in  Massachusetts  is 
110,313,  but  a  considerable  portion  are  the  children  of  foreiqners.  IJy 
referring  to  the  table  of  those  born  in  foreign  land's.'it  w'ill  be  seen 
that  thtn-e  was  an  increase  of  emigrants  from  Ireland  in  these  ten 
years  of  09,517.  The  number  must  have  been  considerably  hiro-er 
ilian  this,  as  many  counted  foreign  born  in  the  Census  of  1850  must 
have  died  between  that  date  and  KSiiO.  Tin'  whole  increase  of  foreio-n 
horn  from  18:)0  to  IHCO  was  !»!).205.  The  foi-eign  element.  ne\i  largest 
to  the  Irish,  is  27.()(i!1  from  British  America.  includinL--  persons  \jf 
Caiiadian,  French,  English,  Irish  and  Scotch  e.vtraclion.  Next  in 
point  of  numbers  are  the  English.  German  and  Scotch.  It  should  be 
observed  that  this  second   table  gives   only   those  born  in  a  foreign 


■a 

.•4 


CSb 


Ari'RNDIX. 


land,  and  not  tlio  children  of  foroipncrs  horn  in  MiissaolMiaolts  Thc'fl 
are  inoludi'd  in  Uio  lirst  tul.lo,  among  tlu^  805,51!)  born  williin  tlio 
oiuk'. 

TIk'  rcmuiiiiii^r  extracts,  wliich  will  bo  fonnd  of  very  Ki'<'at   Intercast, 
are  now  Kivi-n,  and  may  well  sLiiiid  willioul,  nolc  or  connncnt  :  — 


U. 


■The  Forci'rn  KIcinctit  in  MassdcJiusetls. 


But  m  order  to  understand  corrccMv  the  Increase  (uid  tji(>  changes 
In  our  popiilatioii.  the  history  and  number  of  those  of  a  foreiint  oric'in 
must  )),-  carefully  uotod.  Tho  rapid  iucuvase  of  this  class,"  and  The 
chauj^es  consetpiont  upon  its  future  growth,  afford  themes  which  de- 
M'rve  tlie  most  grave  consideration. 

,oTI'"<^'''"'"''^  '^''  '''"*''''''>f'  pt'iiods  returns  this  element  as  follows:- 
18,?0.  1).(,-J0;  ISIO,  :m.sI8;  mO,  ICM-IH;  and  18(10,  lillO.lII.  Here 
within  .JO  years,  commencing  with  h'ss  than  10.000,  w<'  have  an  in- 
crease by  nuungralion  alone,  to  over  2.-.0.000.  It  should  be  ebserved 
Ilia  tins  d,...s  ,u)t  include  the  great  numb.'r  of  children  born  in  this 
Mate  J)  ,>re.gii  extraction.  The  lirst  Registration  liep.,rt  that  dis- 
criminate, in  the  births  as  to  parentage  was  that  of  iSf.o.  rctiirnin-r 
8.I.W  ol  this  class,  and  :{.27,s  mixed  or  not  staled.  I,,  IRilO  the 
nuniber  had  increased  to  17,;V1!).  bcsider,  nearly  1,000  not  stated',  lii 
J,s.)(»  t/ie  JoirujH  births  were  onl,/  one-half  as  many  as  the  Amcvkmu 
,'.,/'"'•'//""/""'«//'>  <J«in  even/  year  aflenranls  vi^m  the  American  till 
jhl.O,  when  thet/  obtninvd  a  majorlti/.  This  year  will  ever  conslitute  an 
important  era  m  the  history  of  Mussarhaset'ts  when  the  foreian  clement, 
compos, n,/  only  about  one  third  part  of  the  population  of'  the  State  pro- 
duced more  children  tlnin  the  American.  Since  ISdO  (he,/  ha,H'^  aained 
Pmv/  year  upon  (Iw  American,  till  in  1805  their  births  minibcred  almost 
J, 0(H)  more  than  the  American. 

,.,-',■'''"  I«50to  18(10.  the   Registration   Reports  make  tho  foreign  birth.s 
l.}/.ll(.     besides    l,s\r.})S    n..L    stated,   a    large   portion    of    which    un- 
doubtedly was  of  foreign  origin.     Then  the  number  of  such  l,irths  from 
JH..0   to   1N)0  cannot  be  definitely  staled,   but,  jmlging  J)y  the  amount 
of   Dreign  populatio.,  at  this  period  and  its  fruitfulucss  a"t  otluu- times 
tlie   number    of  t)irths  would   certainly    come   np    to    .^)().000    or    more' 
rsou-   what   i)roporti(ui   of  those  (,f  this    character  born    from    IS.'iO   to 
J MH).  might,  have  been  living  when   the  Census  of  KS(iO  was  taken,  we 
cannottell  ;  all-  that  can   be  determiuv'd  upon   the  sul)ject  is  only  an 
appr.)ximati(m   to   tln^  truth.     It   is   estimated,   where    th.'   mortalily    is 
largest,  that   only  from   two-fifths  to   one-lu.lf  of  all  those  b<.rninclii.l- 
uig    both    the   city   and   the   country— live   to   reach    adult   life      After 
makingallowaiice  for  this  fact,  and  considering  that  by  far  the  ]ar"-e<t 
proportion  of  tluve  births  occurred  in  the  years  immediately  preccnn- 
NbO   we  think  it  perfectly  safe  to  say  that 'there  must   have  been   ove7 
100,000   persons   of    this   class   included   in    tho    United    States   Census 
returned   as   native    born   in   Massachussetts,   or,    in    other   words,   as 


AITRNDIX. 


689 


aoliiisolts.    Tli<».'« 
bom   williiii   the 


17  K'"<-il'  iiilcn^st, 
iiuMit :  — 


■Us. 

and   lli(>  cIi.uiircH 
a   Corci/jfU  oriijriii 

S     clilSS,     lUld     tll(! 

licmcs  wliicli  d(!- 
it   as    (olIowH :   - 

we   lijivc   ill!   iii- 

ild   he  (ibscrvcd, 

li'i'ii  )>()rii  ill  this 

lit'piirt:    lliat,   dis- 

L'^")().  rctiiniiiiiij 

In    18110,    tlio 

not  slated.  Iti 
f.s'  the  Amcricjui, 
he  American  till 
rer  const  it  ide  an 

forei(fa  element, 
f'  the  Sl((te,  pro- 
heij  hare  (jained 
Humhered  almost 

10  forei,<!;n  births 
of  wliicli  1111- 
stich  l,irths  Iroiri 
',  hy  tlio  ainoiiiit 
s  at  other  times, 
O.OOO  or  more. 
1  from  1S:U)  to 
>  WHS  talieii.  we 
)ject  is  only  an 
lie  mortality  is 
^(!  born  inclnd- 
liilt  life.  .After 
far  the  ]iir<i;e.st 
iately  precediii;)- 
liivc^  been  over 
.Stale.s  Census 
ither   words,   as 

classed  as  .\inori- 
fi)rcij,'ii  born,  the 
bci'ii   much  111010 

United    States    of 
Abstract,  p.  233, 


Amorlcaii.  This  fact  M-onld  ('lianjre  materially  tho  Census  •l-opoH  It 
wonld  take  at  least  l()(),()()l»  from  the  Amerieaii  portion  !)7(»  000  - 
and  add  lOO.OOl)  to  thf  lidO.OOO  reported  as  born  in  foreiKM  conntries. 
This  re.-iilt  makes  n\  {h;d  Ihw  alnm^l  our  hnlf  of  our  popitlalioii  stnr'l,', 
oj  a  foreiiin  ori.iin  !  It  is  expressly  stat-d'.  bi.th  in  the  i;ni|..d  Staler 
and   Mate   Censuses,  that  the   rotiiriiH  are   made  iipoii   the  vaticities  of 

K'     population.       .Jlldjri„u      Uy     |l„.s,,     |',,;.|^     ,i,„|      (ij,,,,.,,^,      i,      ^^.,,,,1,;     J,,.,.,,, 

that  the  Joniijii  pi>pHl.a(ion  is  acluallij  much  laiyer  in  tliix  ,Sialc  than  kan 
(jc)u'rallij  Iteen  cojisideral. 


Ill 


-Didr  Unit  ion  and  Employment  of  the  Forci<rn  Population. 


liut  this  class  of  poopbi  do  not  all  live  in  the  citi.'s.  They  ar« 
found  seattered  in  almost  ev(My  town  and  neighbourhood  in  the  fjoni- 
inonwealth.  Th(i  men  came  lirst  to  build  railroads,  to  di-r  (iiimils 
cellars,  and  aid  in  layiiij,'  the  foundation  of  mills,  dwcdlim-s,  and  piiblid 
bmldinKs.  Then  (iatmnhi;  women  to  a,;t  as  servants  aiwrdomestics  in 
lamilios,  as  well  as  to  find  useful  employment  in  shops  and  mills 
Then  came  parents,  children  and  whole  I'uinilies.  To  sncli  an  e.vtent 
have  they  increased  by  immi<;ration  and  birth,  that  they  now  perform 
a  very  lai-fre  portion  of  the  domestic  servie.'  in  all  our  families  :  they 
constitute-  everywhere  a  majority  of  the  hired  labourers  upon  the  farm  ; 
they  are  lound  e.vteiisively  eiifraf^cd  i„  trade  and  moehanical  pursuits' 
particularly  in  the  shoe  business,  and  compose  by  far  the  lar"-est  ni'o- 
portion  of  all  the  operatives  in  tint  mills.  " 

Within  a  few  years,  they  hav(^  become  extensive  owners  of  real 
estate,  in  lh<.  cities  they  have  built  or  boui,'ht  a  v.'ry  larjye  number 
ot  small  shops  and  cheap  dwellin,<,'s,  and  in  the  rural  districts  as  w«dl 
as  in  the  larinin,!,'  towns  throuirhoui,  tin*  State,  they  hav<f  piirclia.sed 
very  e.vtensively  small  lots  of  lan<l,  small  i)lac(is,  and  old  farms  par- 
tially run  out  ;  and  {what  is  sijjnijicant)  they  pay  for  whaier.cr  real 
estate  they  buy,  and  are  scarcely  ever  knoicn  to  sell  'nn'i/.  In  fact,  it  has 
Cv-une  to  such  a  i)ass,  that  they  perform  a  very  larj^e  'pn>porti<in  of  the 
pliysieal  labour  tliroii«!flioiit  the  State,  whether  it  be;  in  the  mill  or  in 
the  shop,  whether  in  the  family  or  upon  the  farm.  As  far  as  miiseiilar 
exercise  is  concerned,  they  constitute  'the  txme  and  sinew'  of  the  land, 
and  it  would  be  very  difu-nlt.  if  not  imp<^ssil,le,  to  dispense  with  their  str- 
vices.  Mvery  year  the  Americans  are  beeoininj::  more  and  more;  depen- 
dent upon  them  for  manual  labour,  both  in-doors  and  out-of-doors. 
Sluaild  the  foreign  population  continue  to  increase  as  they  have  in  the 
past  twenty  or  thirty  years,  and  the  American  i)ortiou  remain  sta- 
tionary to  decrease,  a  question  of  no  ordinary  interest  arises,  what  will 
b('  the  state  of  society  thirty  or  fifty  years  hence  in  this  Common- 
wealth? 


iV' — Comparative  Increase  of  Natives  and  Foreigners. 

■turn  208,730 

roje 

,/■... w. I  ui  »iin,.i.  iuii,>i  or  lureifrn.     ^vii  oi  ineso  iivinpf  wlien  the  (jcnsu.s 

18  taken,  would  be  considered,  according  to  present  nsage.  American ; 


•»'  — \^uiiipuiiuivc  Autivutte  oj  i\a(ives  ana  rorcigners. 

From  1S50  to  18(i(],  the  fifteen  Registration  Keports  return  208,73( 
births  of  strictly  foreign  parentage,  besides  22.:i7(i  not  stated,  a  lar"-( 
pnrtion  of  which  must  be foreign.  All  of  these  living  when  tho  Censu 
18   taken,    wnnld    ho    ii/»nuli1«r<>/l    Q/mni'/iJ.ir..   f^>    ,,,...«,>..*  _ « ; 


640 


AITKN-DIX. 


wliorcas  llicy  hIiohM  1h>  ooiinl.'.l  Hdidlv  undc-r  fho  foreign  hcnd.  A 
<;invlii|  iiii;il,v>l,  or  the  ('.•iimih  mid  RcMisliaiidii  Krhi.ils  ,  ivscriH*  t|i(> 
lolluwiiiK  inclA  : 


1 
J 

< 


Ml.'  liiciCiiso  ol    |i(>|.iil:ill.  n  in  llir  S(;.lc    liiis  hfrii   c..     ,„,  d    l.i  iiicipii!! v 

<)  ciii.'M  Mild  lowiiw  wli.'iv   I.limll^il(•,flll•tll^^  iii.'cliiiidi'ul  ,iii.(  o ivi;il 

luisiiicss  iMciiiiii.d  nil.     Ill    111.'  i.iindy   iiuriciiltiiiiil  <lisiri,  i<.  Www   Iiiih 

Ihvm  very  littl.'  iiicic  isc  of  |...|nil;r iun".     IJnilionds  have  liud  ii  iiowcrCiil 

"illiK'nco  111   cliiiiiKnii^j:  llio  |>.i|)uliili()ii  of  Mu-  Stale  IVom   (he   IuIIh  mid 

comiliv  lowiiH    to   till!  val|.'\>  and    idiiiiis.      Wlu-icvcr  w  it.T-ixivvcr    (ir 

sliam-ix.w.T.  liuH  Im'cii   inliodii. ■,>,!.   or  w  Ikmv   Irad."  mid  cc.miiiiTc..  'luw 

lonud  advanla^rs,  lli.Mf  |    piilalioii    has  uicatly  incrcuM'd.     TlMMMiHlvrii 

Ht'ilionoi  llic  Slatt'   Ims  increased  Car  more  lliaii   the  middle  or  wosI'mti 

distriels.     i'opulation  in    mamirnehniiiK-  |>li><'''«  has  ineieased  about 

times  moiv    than  in   auriciilliiial  dislriels.     It    is  j'oiind    also,   whenvvr 

thn-c  Ikis  hrni  niiirh  ,-/•  a  rapul  iiicmisr  of  i>i>,„(l,itl<,ti,  il  has  hmi  moife 

V])  Idriitli/ of  (I  forviijii  ch'moit.     Now  It  a  line  could   be  drawn  exactly 

between    the    .^iicrlcaii     and    Ibreinn    poiHilalion,   as    it    respects    this 

inereas.>,  it  wo;  M   Ihniw   much  ii-ht  upon    ihe  subject.     Acurdiii"  to 

(he   (Viisiis    of   l.sCO.    it    appears    that   t,m   ,    'intivs'     \)nkvH   and    Nan- 

llk'ki't     iKiil    actmlhi   (Icnni.snl    in    popuhtno,,.      'I'lien;   were   ('H/hlii-six 

^nrns  also  which    had  (liniiinslinl  in    pupuJaiUm  between    IHAO  and  '\m). 

In   a  small    part  of  these   towns,   this  cliantr<'  is   accoimted  Cor  by  tlio 

fact  that  some  section   of  llie  place    had.  in    the  mean  time,  been  set  off 

to  anotlier  town.     Tin-  plttcvs  in  ihc  Stale  ihtl  haw  inrrrasnl  the  Ivasf 

ot'dixlniril  in  popohtdoiu  arr  foiiwl  lo  he  srttlcd  aenemllii  irilk  Anirriran 

A  sciioiis  (pieslioii  Im'iv  arises,  Is  there  a  natural  increase  in  thin 
cla.«.s  ot  the  commiinily  V  It  is  .yenerallv  admitted  that  loiei.niers  have 
11  fur  jriviiter  number  of  children,  for  the  same  niimb.r  of  inhabitants 
than  the  Americans.  Il  is  estimale<l  by  some  physicians,  that  the  same 
number  ol  marrieil  persons  of  the  former  have,  on  an  averaire.  ihire 
times  as  vuuit/  children  as  an  equal  number  <>f  those  of  the  taller.'  This 
g;ive.s  the  foreign  eleiiuMit  irreat  pow<'r  of  iiicrease  of  ])opuIatio"ii de- 
rived not  so  nuicli  Irom  emigration  h.s  Irom  the  biiihs,  exceediiifr 
greatly  the  death.s.  '  "^ 

♦******«« 

_  In  a  report  ujion  the  comparative  view  of  the  population  of  IJosftm 
in  181!)  and  ISAO,  made  to  the  city  government,  Noveml)er  18.")!, 
Dr.  Jesse  Chickeriii;.;-.  after  a  most  careful  analysis  of  tho  IJirths  ami 
Deaths  in  IJoston.  states  that  'Ihe  most  important  fact  derived  from 
this  view,  is  the  result  that  the  whole  increase  of  population  arisiii.r 
Irom  the  excess  of  r.irths  over  Deaths  for  these  two  years,  has  been 
among  the  loreigii  population.'  Since  IS.")0  we  think  it  will  be  very 
dilliciilt  to  i)rove  that  the."  has  been  any  natural  increaso  of  popula- 
tion in_ Boston  with  the  strict! v  American  population. 

Again,  many  towns  in  the  State  have  been  settled  over  two  hun- 
dred years,  and  their  liistmy  vill  include  from  six  to  eiylit  genera- 
tions. The  records  of  several  of  these  towns  ]iave  been  cirrefiillv 
examined  with  respect  to  the  relative!  numi)er  of  children  in  each 
generaliiui.  't  was  found  that  the  li  niilies  coini)ri.King  the  /(;■,%•/  gmera^ 
tion  had  on  an  averagi;  betw(>eu  ciiihi  and  fen  chiklreA  ;  the  next  three 
generations  averaged  botweoii  seven  and  ehjht  to  each  fn'nUy ;  ilw  Jlfth 


APrKNDIX. 


(in 


"orci^n  hcnd.     A 
(Ills  I  iv'scniM  Ili(> 


ni>  i|   |ii  iiii'i|)a!lv 
lllif    Odllllllclriiil 

<lri<'i?<.  tlicrc   liiiH 
hiul  fi  powcrCiil 

Mil    lll(>     IlillH    1111(1 

\v;itcr-|i(ivv('r,  or 
I  foiiiiiit'rcc  liim 
'<1.  Tim  I'iisU'ru 
liddlc  or  wcsi ti 

('!IS(>(1  illxtlll 

I  iilso,  irhrn  nr 
if  Ikis  hi'fii  ituiifp 
('  (Iriiwii  cviK'tly 
it,  respects  this 
■.  Ai'iitrdiii};  to 
>iikes  and  Nsui- 
wer(*  eH/hh/six 
lHr>0  luid  isdo. 
II ted  for  l)y  tlio 
me,  been  set,  oil' 
rcisi'd  tin'  Ivdsl, 
'  irilh  Amvr'irdii 

inrrcaso  in  \\m 
I'oici  liners  liavt! 
<>r  iiilialtitaiils, 
IS,  lliat  (Ik*  saino 
1  avcra!;*',  ilnre 
the  lallcr.  'J'liis 
population de- 
ll lis,   exceeding 


ation  of  Boston 
Joveml)or  ]8.")l, 
tlio  JJirtlis  an(l 
t  derived  IVoni 
)ulation  arisini; 
ears,  has  been 
t  will  be  very 
.'aso  ol'  popiila- 

over  two  liuii- 
:>  t'ijrht  peneiii- 
been  ciirefiilly 
lildicn  in  eucli 
lie  first  j,^iii,'fa- 
■  the  next  three 
U'liily ;  tho  JljVi 


RemTalion  about  flrc,  and  l\w  sixlh  less  than  Ihi'fr.  In  rarh  fnmilu 
What,  II  chaiiK*'  iiM  I.)  (he  ni/e  .d'  (he  hiniili'  .^^ince  those  (ddeii"  limen  ! 
lli.Mi  lar^e  taindie.s  were  CHicnoii,  -  now  ll  •  excepiioa  ;  (hen  it  wan 
rare  to  (bid  nnirried  persons  havinj;  oidy  >^m\  (wo  or  tlirett  children- 
nnioH  is  nnj  iumnnnn!  'I'heii  it,  was  re^'aidcd  u  rnlxmU,/  b.r  a  married' 
CMiipb.  to  huvu  no  children  w>m  sur.k  r.nlnmUivs  'ir,:'jo,in<l  <>n  rnriJ 
milr  (;/  iis~ia  farl,  llni/  arc  fa.tlnoiKilili: 

It  is  (hit  ntnlonn  'te.sliiiiony  of  ph\  ieiaii  who  have  lieon  exten- 
sively eriKavfed  in  the  practie*;  uf  ni-'dioi,,,..  twnnly,  thirty,  Corty  and 
liHy  years  m  this  State,  and  who  have  Ww  best  p(.^/ibl"e  nieans  (d' 
tiiKhM'standlli-  liiLs  wh.de  .subject.  l/,at  Ihv,  >  Us  Iwm  ,/ra>lna/lii  a,  nr,, 
<jrr>,ljnlln><i  ..//  ,n  Ihv  iniiuhor  of  chll,!,';,.  amon>,  Anierimn  fainilirs. 

Ihi.s  (U'creaso  (d'  children  is  f,>,n„l  to  prvvtil  '„>  rn.nllri/  Inmns  and 
rnral  thstricts  ahamt  to  tin;  s<im<'  r.vlmt  as  in  Ihv.  nih  .■,  irhb-k  is  ronlrarii 
/o  /h<i  <in,rr<tl  iiiijurssluii.  In  view  ol  (hcs.-  IUcIm.  several  (|nesti(.n's 
iialurally  ari.se :  If  tlu;  roici<.n  population  in  Mas,sa(diuseltH  continiicH 
to  mcreasd  UH  it  has,  and  the  Aineiicau  portion  reniaiiis  sialionary  or 
decreases,  us  tho  pnd.abilities  indie  ite,  wliat  will  be  the  state'  (d" 
H..(!ie(y  hen!  twenty-live.  IHly  or  a  hundred  years  hence?  How  loiijf 
'Will  it  be  bid'ore  the  lorci.i,'ti   portion  will  outnuiul)er  tin*  Ainericiin  in 

y  principid  citicH  and  Inn  us,  or  c(»iisliiut,(!  even  a  majority  in  ihe 
wli(d(^  (Joiniiioowcalth '.' 

Th('  can.se  .vhy  (iHro  Hhould  !»(.  sucdi  a  dill'ereiHU'  in  the  iiiiniber  of 
children,  between  ihe  American  lamilies  now  upon  the  sta"-(!,  and 
those  of  the  Kuni»(  stock,  one,  two  and  three  <,M!neralions  u.^) '  is  a 
subject  of  <rrave  eu((iiiiy.  A<raiii,  why  .^-liould  there  be  such  'a  dil- 
fi'i-euce  111  thin  respect,.  b(-lwren  Atneiicaii  families  and  tiios('  of  iIk; 
Kn,t,dish,  '.crinan,  .Scotch  and  Irish  of  the  present  day?  Is  this  dif- 
tercnce  (jv.iiii;  to  our  hi;,di<'i'  (;ivili,sat,ioii  or  to  a  ukm.!  artiliclal  niodn 
ol  lift!  and  tJKj  unwholesome  state  of  soci(d,y  ?  Or  ma  it  he.  ntlrlhatrd 
to  a  dciji'Hrniri/  in.  Ihe  phi/sinil  v.oitdirn.n  ni,d  or(/<i,u!s(ili<m  of  feniuhs,  or 
a  .sellled  deleriiunutlou  with  the.  married  to  hare  no  children  or  a  rem 
limited  number  ? ' 

'Such,'  says  the  Secndary.  'arc  tli(!  (piestioiis  raised  by  Dr.  All.m, 
and  such  arc  some  of  the  facts  which  their  iiivesti;,Mtioii  calls  forth. ' 

With  the  rpiestioiis  raised  ))y  Dr.  Allen  in  this  Public;  Document 
which  Massachiiscdts  has  published  anion-,'  its  State  Papers.  I  do  i„,|; 
attempt  to  deal;  but  l  may  respectfully  su<rj,'est  luiother.— naimdy, 
Does  not  Native-Americai.ism,  or  Know-Xothinf,nsm.  or  any  .'-indlar 
'ism,'  appear  intcns(dy  ridiculous  and  profoundly  absurd,  in  the  face 
of  such  facts  as  these  ? 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Sciences 
Coiporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

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642 


APPENDIX. 


IP 


BIOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL 
P.   R.   CLEBURNE. 

(BY  GENERAL  W.  T.  HARDEE.) 

Thk  sketch  is  necessarily  imperfect,  from  the  want  of  official  records. 
Most  of  these  were  lost  or  df-^troyed  by  the  casualties  attending  the 
close  of  the  late  war ;  and  those  still  in  existence  are  difficult  of  access. 
Of  Cleburne's  early  life  little  is  known— the  record  of  his  service  in  the 
Southern  armies  belongs  to  the  yet  unwritten  history  of  'the  lost 
cause.'  In  better  days,  when  the  passions. and  prejudices  engendered 
by  civil  strife  shall  have  disappeared,  and  history  brings  in  a  dis- 
passionate verdict,  the  name  of  Cleburne  will  appear  high  in  the  lists 
of  patriots  and  warriors.  Uirtil  then,  his  best  record  is  in  the  hearts 
of  his  adopted  countrymen. 

With  brief  exceptions  Cleburne  served  under  my  immediate  com- 
mand during  his  military  career.  He  succeeded  fu-st  to  the  brigade, 
and  then  to  the  division  which  I  had  previously  commanded  ;  and  it 
is  to  me  a  grateful  recollection,  that  circumstances  enabled  me  to 
further  his  advancement  to  those  important  trusts.  From  personal 
knowledge,  therefore,  gained  in  an  intercourse  and  observation  ex- 
tending through  a  period  of  nearly  four  years,  I  can  give  you  an 
outline  sketch  of  Cleburne's  character  and  services. 

Patrick  Ronayne  Cleburne  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  a  Southerner 
by  adoption  and  residence,  a  lawyer  by  profession  ;  a  soldier  in  the 
British  army,  by  accident,  in  his  youth;  and  a  soldier  in  the  Southern 
armies,  from  patriotism  and  conviction  of  duty,  in  his  manhood.  Upon 
coming  to  the  United  Slates  he  located  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  where 
he  studied  and  practised  law. 

In  that  profession  he  had,  previous  to  the  great  struggle,  formed  a 
co-partnership  with  General  T.  C.  Hindman.  His  standing  as  a  lawyer 
was  high,  as  indicated  by  this  association  with  a  gentleman  distin- 
guished as  an  orator  and  advocate. 

It  was  at  this  period  of  his  life  that,  in  the  unorganised  and  turbulenn 
condition  of  society,  incident  to  a  newly  settled  country,  he  established 
a  reputation  ibr  courage  and  fnmnesss,  which  was  afterwards  approved 
by  a  still  more  trying  ordeal.  In  the  commencement  of  the  war  for 
Southern  independence,  he  enlisted  as  a  private.  He  was  subsequently 
made  captain  of  his  company,  and  shortly  after  was  elected  and  com- 
missioned colonel  of  his  regiment.  Thus,  from  one  grade  to  another, 
he  gradually  rose  to  the  high  rank  he  held  when  no  fell.  It  is  but 
Bcant  praise  to  say,  there  was  no  truer  patriot,  no  more  courageous 
soldier,  nor,  of  his  rank,  more  able  commander,  in  the  Southern  armies  j 


STEKAL 


icial  records, 
ittending  the 
lilt  of  access, 
ervice  in  the 
of  'the  lost 
engendered 
gs  in  a  dis- 
i  in  the  lists 
n  the  hearts 

lediate  com- 
the  brigade, 
ded  ;  and  it 
.bled  me  to 
am  personal 
ervation  ex- 
five  you  an 

I  Southerner 
Idler  in  the 
he  Southern 
lood.  Upon 
lusas,  where 

le,  formed  a 
as  a  lawyer 
iman  distin- 

id  tnrbulent 
established 
is  approved 
the  war  lor 
lubsequeiilly 
id  and  com- 
to  another, 
.     It  is  but 


APPENDIX. 


643 


lern  aruues 


and  it  is  not  too  much  to  add  that  his  fall  was  a  greater  loss  to  tho 
cause  he  espoused   than    that   of  any  other  Confederate  leader,  ivfter 
Stonewall  Jackson.      In    the   camp  of  the  army  which  Albert  Sydney 
Johnston  assembled  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  in  the  autumn  of  18()1, 
Cleburne  had  an  opportunity  in  the  drill  and  organisation  of  the  raw 
troops,  of  which  that  army  was  then  composed,  of  proving  his  rinnUfl- 
cations  as  a  disciplinarian    and  commander.      Ilis  natural  abilities  in 
this  respect  had  probably  been  fostered  by  his  early  tuition   in   the 
British  army;  and  upon   his  becoming  a  soldier  a  second  time,  were 
perfected  by  unremitting  study  and  labour.     These  qualities  secured 
his   promotion   to    brigadier-general.     In   April,    18G2,   Albert  Sydney 
Johnston   concentrated    his    forces  at   Corinth,    Mississippi,    to   attack 
General  Grant,  who  had  landed  an  army  at  Pittsburg,   on   the   Ten- 
nessee river,   which  was  now  encamped  near  Shiloh  Church,  about 
three  miles  from  the  landing.    The  attack  was  made  on  the  morning 
of  the  6th  of  April.     Cleburne's  brigade  was  of  my  corps,  which  formed 
the  front  line  of  attack.     The  enemy  were   steadily  driven  for  three 
miles  through    their  encampments,  past  the  rich  spoils  with  which  a 
luxurious  soldiery  had  surrounded  themselves,  and  over  the  heaps  of 
their  dead  and  dying,  until  the  broken  and  demoralised  masses  sought 
the   shelter   of  the   river's   banks,   and   the    cover  of  their   gunboats. 
Albert  Sydney  Johnston   had   fallen   in   action    about   2   o'clock  p.m. 
His  successor  in  command,  General  Beauregard,  deemed  it  best,  lato 
in   the  evening,  to    recall    the   pursuit.     At   the   moment    of  recall, 
Cleburne   was   pressing   on,    within   400  yards  of  Pittsburg   Landing, 
behind  the  cliffs  of  which,  cowered  the  masses  of  hopeless  and  heljjless 
fugitives.    That  night  the  enemy  were  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  a 
fresh  army  under  Buell ;  and,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th,  the  Southern 
forces,  after  maintaining,  through  the  day,  the  now  unequal  struggle, 
withdrew,  unpursued,  to  Corinth.    In  this  battle  Cleburne's  brigade  sus- 
tained a  heavier  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  than  any  other  in  the  army. 
At  the  initiation   of  General   Bragg's   Kentucky   campaign,   in   the 
summer  of  18(i2,  Cleburne's  brigade,  with   one  other,  was  detatched 
and  united  with  Kirby  Smith's  column,  which,  starting  from  Knox- 
ville,  Tennessee,  was  to  penetrate  Kentucky  through  Cumberland  Gap 
and  form  a  junction  with  the  main  array  under  General  Bragg,  which. 
moved  from  Chattanooga  into  Kentucky  by  a  ditferent  rout.     Kirby 
Smith's    forces    encountered   opposition    at    Richmond,    Kentucky,   in 
September.     There  Cleburne   directei  the  first  day's  fighting,  and  in 
his   first   handling   of    an    Independent   command   was   mainly   instru- 
mental i"  winning  a  victory,  which,  in  the  number  of  prisoners  and 
amount  of  stores  captured,  an<l  in  the  utter  dispersion  and  destruction 
of  the  opposing  force,  was  one  of  the  most  complete  of  tlje  war.    For 


644 


APPENDIX. 


'^ 


* galknt  and  raeiUorious  service '  hero,  he  received  an  official  vote  of 
thanks  from  the  Congress  of  tlio  Confederate  States.  In  this  action 
he  received  a  sin<;:iilar  woimd.  The  missile,  a  minie  rifle  ball,  entered 
the  apertnre  of  the  mouth  wliile  his  mouth  was  open,  in  the  act  of 
giving  a  commind  to  the  trrtops  in  action,  without  touching  his  lips, 
and  passed  out  of  the  left  cheek,  carrying  away  in  its  course  five 
lower  teeth,  without  touching  or  injuring  the  bone.  Tiiis  wound 
did  not  prevent  his  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Perry ville  on  the  8th 
of  October  following,  where  he  rejoined  my  command,  and  was  again 
wounded  while  leading  his  brigade  in  a  gallant  charge. 

An  incident  occurred  in  the  march  out  of  Kentucky,  which  will 
serve  to  illustrate  Cleburne's  indomitable  will  and  energy.  On  the 
road  selected  for  the  passage  of  ordnance  and  supply  trains  of  the 
army,  was  a  very  difficult  hill,  at  which  the  trains  unable  to  pass 
over  it,  or  to  go  round  it,  came  to  a  dead  halt.  The  enemy  were 
pressing  the  rear,  the  trains  were  immovable,  and  nothing  seemed  left 
but  to  destroy  them,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy ;  orders  had  actually  be'm  given  for  their  destruction  when 
Clebarne,  \vho  was  disabled  and  off  duty  on  account  of  his  wound, 
came  up.  He  asked  and  was  given  unlimited  authority  in  the  pre- . 
mises.  lie  at  once  stationed  guards  in  the  road,  arrested  every 
straggler  and  passing  officer  and  soldier,  collected  a  large  force, 
organised  fatigue  parties,  and  literally  lifted  the  trains  over  the  hill. 
The  trains  thus  preserved  contained  munitions  and  subsistence  of  the 
utmost  value  and  necessity  to  the  Confederates.  It  ia  by  no  means 
certain  even  that  the  army  could  have  made  its  subsequent  long 
march  through  a  sterile  and  wasted  country  without  them. 

In  December  18(52,  General  Bragg  concentrated  his  army  at  Mur- 
freesboro,  Tennessee,  to  oppose  the  Federal  forces  assembled  at  Nash- 
ville under  Rosecrans.  At  this  time.  Major-general  Buckner,  then 
commanding  the  division  of  which  Cleburne's  brigade  formed  a  part, 
was  transferred  to  other  service,  and  the  President  of  the  Confederate 
States,  who  was  on  a  visit  to  the  army  at  the  time,  promoted  Cleburne 
to  the  vacant  division.  Rosecrans'  advance  upon  Bragg  brought  on  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Dec.  31, 18()2.  In  the  action  of  this  day  Cleburne's 
was  one  of  the  two  divisions  under  my  command,  which  attacked  the 
right  v,-ing  of  the  Federal  army,  under  .M-Cook.  This  wing  was  beaten 
and  driven  three  miles,  until  its  extreme  right  was  doubled  back  upon 
the  centre  of  the  Federal  army.  During  the-day,  Cleburne's  division  in 
Bingle  line  of  battle,  without  reinforcement,  rest,  or  refreshment,  en- 
countered and  drove  before  it  five  successive  lines  of  battle,  which  the 
Federal  commander-in-chief  withdrew  from  his  intact  centre  and  left 
to  reinforce  his  broken  right.    The  general  results  of  the  day  were  not 


fficial  vote  of 
II  this  action 
ball,  entered 
n  tho  act  of 
hlng  his  lips. 
s  course  five 
This  Avound 
le  on  the  8th 
id  was  again 

,  which  will 
rgy.  On  the 
trains  of  the 
able   to   pass 

enemy  were 
?  seemed  left 
hands  of  the 
notion  when 
f  his  wonnd, 

in  the  pre- . 
rested    every 

large  force, 
)ver  the  hill. 
stence  of  the 
by  no  means 
ieqnent   long 

[•my  at  Mnr- 
jled  at  Nash- 
ickner,  then 
rmed  a  part, 
Confederate 
ted  Cleburne 
ought  on  the 
ly  Cleburne's 
attacked  the 
?  was  beaten 
d  back  upon 
s  division  in 
^shment,  en- 
'.,  which  the 
tre  and  left 
lay  were  not 


APPENDIX.  (543 

decisive  in  favour  of  the  Southern  arms;  but  this  heightens  the 
achievement  of  that  portion  of  the  army  which  was  successful,  and 
the  merit  of  the  officer  whose  skilful  handling  of  his  division  contri- 
buted materially  to  that  success. 

From  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro'  to  that   of  Chickamauga,  in   Sep- 
tember,  18ii•^,   military   operations  in  the    army  with   which   Cleburne 
was  connected   were  of  a   desultory   and   undecisive   character.      IJut 
outpost    duty   in   close  proximity   to   an  enemy  superior  iu  n'unbers, 
afforded   Cleburne    occasion    <br    the   exercise    of    his   high    soldierly 
qualities  of  vigilance  and   activity.     In   the   advance  lioni  Tullahumu 
to  Wartrace,  and   the  subsequent   retrremont   of  the  army   to    Chatta- 
nooga, his  division  habitually  formed  the   vanguard  iu   advance   and 
.the   rearguard   in   retreat.      The   battle    of   Chickamauga -an    Indian 
name  which  signifies  'the  river  of  death'— wrote  the   bloodiest  page 
in   the    history    of   Western    battles.      General   Bragg,   reinforced    by 
Longstreet's  corps  from  Virginia,  on  the  19th  and  20th  of  September 
engaged  and,    after    an  obstinate   contest,   defeated,   Rosecrans'   army, 
which,  routed   and   demoralised,  retreated  within  its  line  of  works  at 
Chattanooga.     In   this  battle   Cleburne's  division  bore  its  usual  promi- 
nent part ;   a   charge   made  by  it,  in  the  strugijle    for  position  in   the 
adjustment  of  lines  on  the  Saturday  evening,    preceding  the  Sunday's 
final  conflict,  is  described  as  especially  magnificent  and  effective. 

Tho  Confederate  forces  soon    after  occupied   Missionary  Ridge,   and 
partially    invested    Chattanooga,    with    the    object  of    cutting  "off  the 
supplies  of  the  army  within  its  lines.     The  attempt  was  but'partially 
successful.      Meantime    the  Federal    govern  nent    despatched   General 
Grant    to  succeed    Rosecrans    in    command,   and  recalled    Sherman's 
army   from   Mississippi    to  remforce   him.     On   the   2Uh  of  November, 
Grant,  reinforced    by  Sherman,  attacked  Bragg,  weakened  by  the  de- 
tachment of  Longstreet's  corps,  and  carried   the  position  of  the  Con- 
federate  left  on  Lookout  Mountain.      On   the    25th   a   general  attack 
was  made   nppn    the    Confederate  line.      The   right  wing,   under   my 
command,  consisted    of    four    divisions  — Cleburne's   on     the   extreme 
right.     The  attacking  force  in   this   part  of  the  field   was  commanded 
by    General     Sherman.       The    enemy    made    repeated    and    vigorous 
assaults,    which    were    repelled    with    heavy    loss   to    the    assailants. 
Cleburne's  position   on  the    right   was  most  insecuie,  from  its  liabi- 
lity to   be  turned.      He   maintained    it  with    his  accustomed   ability, 
and    upon    the    repulse   of  the   last    assault,    directed    in    person  a 
counter  charge,  which    effected   the  capture    of  a  large  number  of 
prisoners  and  several  stands  of  colours.     The   assailants   gave   up   the 
contest  and  withdrew  from  our   front.     But  while  the  cheers  of  victory 
raised   on  the    right  were  extending  do»vn   the  line,  the  left  of  the 


646 


APPENDIX. 


army  had  been  carried  by  assault,  and  the  day  was  lost.  Al!  that  now 
remained  to  the  victorious  righ<^^  was  to  cover  tlio  retreat  of  the  army. 
This  it  did  successfully.  If  the  riglit,  instead  of  the  left  of  the  army, 
had  been  carried,  it  would  have  given  the  enemy  possession  of  tlie 
only  line  of  retreat,  and  no  organised  body  of  the  Conlederale  army 
could  have  escaped.  In  the  gloom  of  night-fall,  Cleburne's  division, 
the  last  to  retire,  sadly  withdrew  from  the  ground  it  had  held  so 
gallantly,  and  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  retiring  army. 

The  enemy  next  day  organised  a  vigorous  pursuit ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  second  day,  its  advance,  Hooker's  corps,  came  up  with 
Cleburne  at  Ringgold  Gap.  The  enemy  moved  to  attacli  what  they 
supposed  a  demoralised  force  with  great  confidence.  Cleburne  had 
made  sliilful  dispositions  to  receive  the  attack,  and  repulsed  it  with 
Buch  serious  loss,  that  pursuit  was  abandoned,  and  the  pursuing  force 
returned  to  its  lines.  Here  Cleburne  again  received  the  thanks  of 
Cgngress  for  meritorious  conduct. 

The  Southern  army  now  Avent  into  winter  quarters  at  Dalton,  in 
North  Georgia.  Cleburne's  division  occupied  an  outpost  at  Tunnel 
Hill.  He  devoted  the  ^vinter  months  to  the  discipline  and  instruction 
of  his  troops,  and  revived  a  previously-adopted  system  of  daily  recita- 
tions in  tactics  and  the  art  of  war.  He  himsell'  heard  the  recitations 
of  his  brigade  commanders,  a  quartette  of  lieutenants  wortliy  their 
captain — the  stately  Granberry,  as  great  of  heart  as  of  frame,  a  noble 
type  of  the  Texan  soldier — Govan,  trae  and  brave  as  he  was  courteous 
and  gentle  —  Polk,  young,  handsome,  dashing  and  fearless,  and  — 
Lowry,  the  parson  soldier,  who  preached  to  his  wen  in  camp  and  fought 
them  in  the  field  with  equal  earnestness  and  effect.  These  brigadiers 
heard  the  recitationa  of  the  regimental  officers,  and  they  in  turn  of 
the  company  officers.  The  thorough  instruction  thus  secured,  first 
applied  on  the  drill  ground,  and  then  tested  in  the  field,  gave  the 
troops  great  efficiency  in  action. 

About  ♦this  time  the  terms  of  enlistment  of  the  three  years'  men 
began  to  expire.  It  was  of  critical  importance  to  the  Southern  cause 
that  these  men  sliould  re-enlist.  The  greater  part  of  Cleburne's  divi- 
sion consisted  of  Arkansans  and  Texans,  who  were  separated  from 
their  homes  by  the  Mississippi  river.  This  river,  patroled  by  Federal 
gunboats,  was  an  insuperable  barrlor  to  cemraunication.  Many  of 
these  men  had  not  heard  from  their  homes  and  wives  and  little  ones 
for  three  years.  To  add  to  this,  the  occasional  reports  received  fr  ■> 
the  trans-Mississippi  were  but  repeated  narratives  of  the  waste  and 
ravage  of  their  homes  by  the  Federal  soldiery.  No  husbaiul  could 
know  that  his  wife  was  not  homeless — no  father,  that  his  children 
were  not  starving.     Every  instinct  that  appeals  most  powerfully  and 


APPENDIX. 


647 


.  Al!  that  now 
at  of  the  army. 
ft  of  the  army, 
Hsession  of  the 
1  federal e  army 
irne's  tliviHion, 
t  had   held  so 

;  and  on  the 
,  came  up  with 
ack  what  they 

Cleburne  hud. 
pulsed  it  with 
pursuing  force 
the   thanks   of 

at  Dalton,  in 
ost  at  Tunnel 
ind  instruction 
•f  dally  recita- 
the  recitations 
1  wortiiy  their 
"rr.me,  a  noble 
was  courteous 
earljL'ss,  and  — 
inp  ami  fought 
lese  brigadiers 
ey  in  t\irn  of 

secured,  first 
ic'Id,  gave   the 

?e  years'  men 
louthern  cause 
leburne's  divi- 
I'parated  from 
ed  by  Federal 
)n.  Many  of 
uid  little  ones 
received  fr  " 
he  waste  and 
jusband  could 
t  liis  cliildri'u 
owerfuUy  and 


most  sacredly  to  manhood,  called  upon  these  men  to  return  to  their 
homes  as  soon  as  they  could  do  so  honourably.  Cleburne  was  a  man 
of  warm  sympathies,  and  ho  felt  profoundly  the  extei.l  of  the  saorilite 
his  men  were  called  upon  to  uialvo  ;  but  with  Roman  virluct  he  set 
high  above  all  other  earthly  consideratious  the  achievement  of  Soutli- 
eru  independence.  He  adapted  himself  to  the  peculiar  coudilions 
of  a  volunteer  .soldiery,  and  laying  aside  the  commander,  he  ap- 
pealed to  his  men,  as  a  man  and  a  comrade,  to  give  up  everything 
else  and  stand  by  the  cause  and  the  jountry.  lie  succeeded  in 
inspiring  them  with  his  own  high  purpo.se  arivl  exalted  patriotism,  and 
the  result  was  the  early  and  unanimous  re-enlistment  of  his  division. 
The  Confederate  Congress  pas.sed  later  a  Conscription  Act  that  retained 
the  three  years'  men  in  service  ;  but  those  whose  terms  of  enlistment 
expired  in  the  interim  would  meantime  have  returned  to  their  homes, 
and  the  moral  effect  of  voluntary  re-enlistment  would  have  been  lost 
to  the  cause. 

Cleburne  fully  comprehended  the  disproportion  in  the  military  re- 
sources of  the  North  and  South,  and  was  the  first  to  point  out  the 
only  means  left  the  South  to  recruit  her  exhausted  numbers.  In 
January,  18(i4,  he  advocated  calling  in  the  negro  population  to  the 
aid  of  Southern  arms.  He  maintained  that  negroes  accustomed  to 
obedience  from  youth,  would,  under  the  otHcering  of  their  masters, 
make  even  better  soldiers  for  the  South  than  they  had  been  proven  to 
make  under  different  principles  of  organisation  for  the  North.  He 
insisted  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Southern  people  to  waive  con- 
siderations of  property  and  prejudices  of  caste,  and  bring  to  their  aid 
this  powerful  auxiliary.  He  pointed  out  further  that  recruits  could 
be  obtained  on  the  borders,  who  would  otherwise  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Federal  armies,  and  be  converted  into  soldiers  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  our  enemies.  His  proposition  met  the  disfavour  of  both 
government  and  people.  A  year  later  it  was  adopted  by  Congress, 
with  the  approval  of  the  country,  when  it  was  too  late. 

The  following  extract  of  a  note  written  about  this  time  to  a  lady, 
a  refugee  from  Tennessee,  in  reply  to  some  expre.ssions  complimentary 
to  himself,  and  to  a  hope  expressed  for  the  recovery  of  Tennessee,  is 
markedly  characteristic  of  the  man  : — 

'  To  my  noble  division  and  not  to  myself  belong  the  praises  for  the 
deeds  of  gallantry  you  mention.  Whatever  we  have  done,  however, 
has  been  more  than  repaid  by  the  generous  appreciation  of  oar  coun- 
trymen. I  assure  you,  I  feel  the  same  ardent  longing  to  recover  the 
magnificent  forests  and  green  valleys  of  middle  Tcnnt'ssee  that  you  do  ; 
and  I  live  in  the  Iwpe  that  God  will  restore  them  to  our  arms.  I 
cannot  predict  when  the  time  will  be,  but  I  feel  that  it  is  certainly  in 


64% 


APPENDIX. 


■'4 

H 
t 

.ft 

"'4 


.3 

i 


the  future.  We  may  have  to  make  still  greater  sacrifices— to  use  all 
the  means  tiiat  God  has  given  us  ;  but  when  once  our  peoi)le,  or  the 
great  body  of  them,  sincerely  value  independence  above  eiH-ry  othe.f 
earthly  consideration ,  theu  I  will  regard  our  success  as  an  accomplished 
fact. 

'Your  friend, 

'  P.   R.   Cl.EHUKNK.' 

In  a  brief  absence  from  Dalton,  with  one  exception  his  only  absence 
during  his  service,  Cleburne  formed  an  attachment  as  earnest  and 
true  as  his  own  noble  nature.  The  attachment  was  returned  with  the 
fervour  and  devotion  of  the  daughterc  of  the  South.  Much  might  be  said 
of  this  episode— of  its  romantic  beginning,  and  its  tragic  end ;  but  the 
story  of  th(^  loved  and  lost  is  too  sacred  to  be  unveiled  to  the  public  eye. 

General  Bragg  had  been  relieved  of  fie  command  of  the  Western 
irmy,  at  his  own  request,  after  the  battk  of  Missionary  Ridge ;  sub- 
sequently General  J.  E.  Johnston  was  assigned  to  the  command.  To 
the  Federal  General  Sherman  was  given  the  command  of  the  armies 
assembled  at  Chattanooga  for  the  invasion  of  Georgia.  The  campaign 
opened  oil  the  7th  of  May.  The  history  of  its  military  operations, 
under  the   conduct  of  General   Johnston,  is   the  record  of  a  strufffirle 

DO 

against  largely  superior  forces,  protracted  through  a  period  of  seventy 
days,  and  e.vtendin-g  over  a  hundred  miles  of  territory.  The  campaign 
was  characterised  by  brilliant  partial  engagements  and  continuous 
skirmishing,  the  aggregate  results  of  which  summed  up  into  heavy 
battles.  When  the  army  reached  Atlanta,  notwithstanding  the  dis- 
couragements of  constant  fighting,  frequent  retreats,  and  loss  of 
territory,  it  was  with  unimpaired  organisation  and  morale. 

Ill  this  campaign,  Cleburne's  division  haa  two  opportunities  of 
winning  special  distinction.  At  New  Hope  Church,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
it  formed  the  right  of  the  array  in  two  lines,  the  first  entrenched.  In 
the  afternoon  of  that  day  the  4th  corps  of  the  Federal  army  advanced 
as  if  to  pass  its  right.  Cleburne  promply  brought  his  two  brigades 
of  the  second  line  into  the  first,  extending  it  to  face  the  Federal 
advance.  This  lino  received  the  enemy's  attack,  made  in  seven  lines, 
on  open  ground,  with  no  advantage  on  our  side  except  a  well-chosen 
position,  and  after  an  obstinate  fight  of  an  hour-and-a-half  repulsed  it. 
Cleburne's  troops  were  not  only  greatly  outnumbered,  but  were  out- 
numbered by  resolute  soldiers.  At  the  end  of  the  combat  about  700 
Federal  dead  lay  within  thirty  or  forty  feet  of  his  line.  During  the 
action  a  Federal  colour-bearer  planted  his  colours  within  ten  paces  of 
Cleburne's  Iftie.  He  was  instantly  killed,  a  second  who  took  his  place 
ehared  bis  fate,  so  with  the  third  and  fourth  ;  th(!  fifth  bore  off  the  colours. 

We   read   of  little   more  eftective  fighting   than   that  of  Cheathani'i 


COS — to  use  all 
[•  peoi)le,  or  the 
ove  eoerij  olhe.r 
1  nccoaiplished 


\.   Cl.EnUKNK.' 

3  only  absence 
s  earnest  and 
urned  with  the 
h  might  be  said 
c  end ;  but  the 
he  public  eye. 
f  the  Western 
■y  Ridge;  sub- 
corainand.  To 
.  of  the  armies 
The  campaign 
try  operations, 

of  a  struggle 
•iod  of  seventy 
The  campaign 
nd  continuous 
ip  into  heavy 
nding  the  dis- 

and  loss    of 

portiinities  of 
;ie27th  of  May, 
ntrenched.  In 
irmy  advanced 

two  brigades 
3  the  Federal 
in  seven  lines, 

a  well-chosen 
ilf  repulsed  it. 
but  were  out- 
bat  about  700 
B.  During  the 
in  ten  paces  of 
took  his  place 
off  the  colours, 
of  Cheatham'i 


APPENDIX. 


649 


and  Clebnrne'a  divisions  in  repelling  an  assault  made  'upon  them  by 
Blair's  corps  of  the  Federal  army,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of 
June,  at  Kenesaw.  The  conduct  of  the  Federal  troops  on  that  occa- 
sion was  as  resolute  as  in  the  instance  above.  When  they  fell  biick, 
more  than  300  dead  bodies  were  counted  within  a  few  yards  of  Cle- 
burne's entrenchment,  some  of  them  lying  against  it.  Ilis  loss  was 
two  killed  and  nine  wounded,  crrtainly  less  than  1  to  100  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  18th  of  Ju^y,  Gen.  Johnston  was  removed  from  the 
Western  army,  and  Gen.  Hood  promoted  to  its  command. 

On   the  21st,  while  the  army  was  occupying  a  lino  encircling  the 
nortliern  front  of  Atlanta,  Cleburne's  division  was  detached  to  oppose 
an  attempt  of  a  corps  of  the  enemy  to  turn  the  Confederate  riglit,  and 
penetrate    to    Atlanta    at    an    undefendwl    point.      His  troops,  newly 
arrived  at  the  point  of  apprehended  attack,  had  no  protection,  other 
than  the  men  provided  themselves  in  the  brief  time  allo.ed  for  pre- 
paration.   They  were  attacked  by  large  odds,  in  front  and  on  both 
flanLs.    At  one  time  Cleburne's  line  was  so  completely  enfiladed,  that 
a  sinf^le  shot  of  the  enemy  killed  nineteen  men  in  one  company.    The 
position  was  maintained,  the  enemy  repulsed,  and  Atlanta  preserved. 
Cleburne  described  this  as  the   'bitterest  flght'  of  his  life.    On   the 
22d  of  July,  in  carrying  out  a  plan  of  general  attack,  my  corps,  con- 
sisting then  of   Cleburne's  and  three  other  divisions,  assaulted    and 
carried  the  entrenched  left  of  the  Federal  army.    The  troops  opposed 
to  us  were  McPherson's  army,  of  which  Blair's  corps  formed 'a  part. 
On  the  27th  of  June,  Cleburne  had  repelled  an  assault  of  these  ti-oops 
with  a  loss  signally  disproportionate.'    It  boars  strong  testimony  to 
the  soldierly  qualities  of  the  Confederate  troops,  that  on  the  22d  of 
July,  they,  in  positions  exactly  reversed,  carried  works  equally  strong 
manned  by  the  same  troops.     The  loss  of  tweiity-seven  of  about  thirty 
field  officers  in  Cleburne's  division  in  this  action,  attests  the  gallantry 
of  the  officers  and  the  severity  of  the  conflict. 

On  the  2()th  of  August,  the  Federal  commander,  Gen.  Sherman, 
commenced  to  turn  the  Confederate  position  at  Atlanta.  A  Federal 
force  made  a  detour,  and  occupied  a  position  at  Jonesboro',  about  twenty- 
five  miles  south  of  Atlanta.  On  the  night  of  the  .30th,  Gen,  Hood, 
remaining  in  Atlanta  with  one  corps  of  his  army,  sent  the  remaining 
two,  Lee's  and  my  own,  under  my  command,  to  dislodge  this  force.  It 
was  found  to  consist  of  three  corps,  strongly  entrenched.  The  attack 
upon  it  was  unsuccessful.  Cleburne  commanded  my  corps  in  this 
action,  and  achieved  the  only  success  of  the  day,  the  capture  of  some 
guns  and  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  works.  On  the  night  of  the  iJlst, 
Gen.  Hood  withdrew  Lee's  corps  towards  Atlanta,  and  the  Federal 
commander  was  reinforced  by  three  additional  corps,  so  that  on  th«» 

28 


150 


APPENDIX. 


4 
i 


morning  of  the  1st  of  September,  my  corps,  In  which  Cleburne  hnd 
renewed  his  place  as  division-commander,  was  confronted  by  six 
Federal  corps.  Gon.  Sherman  had,  meantime,  arrived  on  the  field, 
and  taken  command  in  person.  The  enemy  at  once  toolc  the  offensive. 
It  was  of  the  last  necessity  to  secure  the  safe  withdrawal  of  the 
remainder  of  the  army  from  Atlanta,  that  this  Confederate  corps 
should  hold  its  position  throiigh  the  day.  The  odds  were  fearful,  and 
the  contest  that  followed  was  a  very  tryiitg  one ;  bnt  the  position  was 
held  against  the  attacks  made  upon  it  through  the  day,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  army  retired  in  safety  from  Atlanta.  Cleburne's  services 
M-ere  highly  valuable  in  the  operations  of  this  day. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1864,  Oen.  Hood  marched  into  Tennessee. 
In  this  campaign,  at  the  battle  of  Franklin,  November  the  30th,  Cle- 
burne fell  at  the  head  of  his  division.  lie  was  one  of  thirteen  general 
officers  killed  or  disabled  in  the  combat.  lie  had  impressed  upon  his 
officers  the  necessity  of  carrying  the  position  ho  had  been  ordered  to 
attack,  a  very  strong  one,  at  all  cost.  The  troops  knew  from  fearful 
experience  of  their  own,  and  their  enemies,  what  it  was  to  assault 
such  works.  To  encourage  them,  Cleburne  led  them  in  person  to  the 
ditch  of  the  opposing  lino.  There  rider  and  horse,  each  pierced  by  a 
score  of  bullets,  fell  dead  against  the  reverse  of  the  enemy's 
works. 

The  death  of  Cleburne  cast  a  deep  gloom  over  the  army  and  the 
country.  Eight  millions  of  people,  whose  hearts  had  learned  to  thrill 
at  his  name,  now  ftiourned  his  loss,  and  felt  there  was  none  to  take 
his  place.  The  division  with  which  his  fame  was  identified  merits 
more  particular  mention.  It  wa^  worthy  •  f  him,  and  he  had  made 
it  so.  Its  numbers  were  made  up,  and  its  honours  were  shared,  by 
citizens  of  Ave  communities— Arkansas,  Texas,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
and  Tennessee.  In  it  was  also  one  regiment  of  Irishmen,  who,  on 
every  field,  illustrated  the  characteristics  of  the  race  that  furnishes 
the  world  with  soldiers.  No  one  of  its  regiments  but  bore  upon  its 
colours  the  significant  device  of  the  '  crossed  cannon  inverted,'  and  the 
name  of  each  battle  in  which  it  had  been  engaged.  Prior  to  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  a  blue  battle  flag  had  been  adopted  by  me  for  this 
division;  and  when  the  Confederate  battle  flag  became  the  national 
colours,  Cleburne's  division,  at  its  urgent  request,  was  allowed  to  re- 
tain its  own  bullet-riddled  battle  flags.  This  was  the  only  division  in 
the  Confederate  service  allowed  to  carry  into  action  other  than  the 
national  colours ;  and  friends  and  fo  -s  soon  learned  to  watch  tho  course 
of  the  blue  flag  that  marked  where  Cleburne  was  in  the  battle. 
Where  this  division  defended,  no  odds  broke  its  lines;  where  it 
attacked,  no  numbers    resisted   its  onslaught,  save   only  once;— and 


Cleburne  had 
onted    by  six 

on  the  field, 
i  the  ofFenslve. 
Irawul  of  the 
I'derato  corps 
■0  fearful,  and 
0  position  was 
r,  and  the  re- 
urne's  services 

ito  Tennessee. 

the  30th,  Cle- 

irteen  general 

ssed  npon  his 

en  ordered  to 

V  from  fearful 

raa  to  assault 

person  to  the 

pierced  by  a 

the    enemy's 

army  and  the 
rned  to  thrill 

none  to  take 
ntified  merits 
he  had  made 
re  shared,  by 
\,  Mississippi, 
lien,  who,  on 
;hat  furnishes 
bore  upon  its 
•ted,'  and  the 

Prior  to  the 
jT  me  for  this 

the  national 
11  owed  to  re- 
ly division  in 
ther  than  the 
jh  ihi)  course 
n  the  battle. 
38 1  where  it 
f  once ;— and 


APPENDIX.  gg, 

there  Is  the  grave  of  Cleburne  and  ]m  heroic  division.  In  thl« 
Bketch  of  Cleburne  there  has  been  no  intention  of  disparaging  by 
omissmn  or  otherwise,  the  merits  and  services  of  other  officers 'and 
troops,  some  of  which  are  eminently  worthy  of  commemoration;  but 
thelimitsof  a  Bketch,  personal  in  its  character,  and  giving  a  bare  out- 
line of  the  military  operations  with  which  the  subject  of  it  was  con- 
nected, necessarily  preclude  an  account  of  the  services,  however  great 
of  others,  even  when  rendered  in  the  same  action. 

Cleburne  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  about  37  years  of  age     He 
was  above   the  medium  height,  about  5   feet  11   inches,  and  though 
without  striking  personal    advantages,  would  have  arrested   attention 
from  a  close  observer  as  a  man  of  mark.     His  hair,  originally  black 
became  grey  under  the  cares  and  fatigues  of  campaigning.     His  eyea' 
a  clear   steel-grey  in  colour,  were  cold  and  abstracted  usually,   baJ 
beamed  genially  in  seasons  of  social  intercourse,  and  blazed  fiercely  in 
moments  of  excitement.     A  good-sized   and  well-shaped  head,  promi- 
nent  features,  slightly  aquiline  nose,  thin,  greyish  whiskers  worn  on 
the  lip  and   chm,  and  an  expression   of  countenance  when  In  repoM 
rather    indicative  of   a  man  of  thought  than    action,  c(  Tipletes  tht 
picture.     His  manners  were  distant  and  reserved   to  strangers    but 
frank  and  winning  among  friends.    His  mind  was  of  a  highly  logicia 
cast.    Before  expressing  an  opinion   upon  a  subject,  or  coming  to  » 
decision  in   any  conj.incture  of  circumstances,  he   wore  an  expressioa 
as    If    solving   a    mathematical    proposition.      The    conclusion    when 
reached,    was    always    stamped  with    mathematical    correctness      He 
was  modest  as  a  woman,  but  not  wanting  in  that  fine  ambition  which 
ennobles  men.    Simple  in  his  tastes  and  habits,  and  utterly  regardle,«« 
of  personal   comfort,  he  was  always  mindful  of  the   comfort  and  weN 
fare  of  his   troops.     An  incident  which  occurred  at  Atlanta  illustrate! 
his  habitual    humanity  to  prisoners.     A  captured  Federal   officer  wai 
deprived  of  his  hat  and  blankets  by  a  needy  soldier  of  Cleburne's 
command,  and  Cleburne,  falling  to  detect  the  offender  or  to  recover 
the  property,  sent  the  officer  a  hat  of  his  own,  and  his  only  pair  of 
blankets. 

Among  his  attachments  was  a  very  strong  one  for  bis  adjutant 
General  Captain  Irving  A.  Buck,  a  boy  in  years,  but  a  man  in  all 
soldierly  qualtities.  who  for  nearly  two  years  of  the  war,  shared  Clo. 
bn.rne  s  labours  during  the  day  and  his  blankets  at  night, 
_  He  was  also  much  attached  to  his  youngest  brother,  who  was  killed 
in  one  of  Morgan's  fights  in  South-Western  Virginia.  This  brother 
inherited  the  brave  qualities  that  belonged  to  the  name,  and  after 
being  promoted  from  the  ranks  for  'distinguished  gallantry,'  fell  in  a 
charge  at  the  head  of  his  regiment. 


662 


APPENDIX. 


'4 

*3^ 


1 

-I 
< 


Cleburne  had  enough  accent  to  betray  hU  Irish  birth.  This  accent, 
perceptibl«  in  ordinary  converHation,  grew  in  timcH  of  excitement 
Into  a  strongly  murkod  brogue.  He  was  accuRtomed  to  refer  to 
Ireland  as  the  J  old  country,'  and  always  in  the  tone  of  a  son  speak- 
ing of  an  absent  mother.  lie  posHesned  con.sidi'rablo  powers  of  wit 
and  oratory,  the  nalloniii  heritage  of  the  Irish  people;  but  his  wit, 
perhaps  characterised  by  the  stern  influences  that  had  surrounded  his 
life,  was  rather  grim  than  humorous.  Ho  had  a  marked  literary 
turn,  and  was  singularly  well-versed  in  the  British  poets.  Indeed,  ho 
had  at  one  period  of  his  life  wooed  the  muse  himself,  and  with  no 
Inconsiderable  success,  as  was  evidenced  by  some  fragments  of  his 
poetical  labours  which  he  had  preserved. 

It  was  known  that  he  had  a  brother  in  the  Federal  army,  but  he 
Boldom  mentioned  his  name,  and  never  v.ithout  classifying  him  with 
the  mass  of  the  Irish  who  had  espoused  the  Federal  cause,  of  whom 
ho  always  spoke  in  terms  of  strong  indignation.  His  high  integrity 
revolted  at  the  want  of  inconsistency  and  morality  shown  in  the  course 
of-that  class  of  Irish  who,  invoking  the  sympathies  of  the  world  In 
behalf  of  '  oppressed  Ireland,'  gave  the  powerful  aid  of  their  arms  to 
enslave  another  people. 

Cleburne's  remains  were  buried  after  the  battle  of  Franklin,  and 
yet  rest  In  the  Polk  Cemetery,  near  Columbia,  Tennessee,  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  many  beautiful  spots  in  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee. 
Generals  Cranberry  and  Strahl,  brave  comrades  who  fell  In  tho  same 
action,  were  buried  at  his  side.  On  the  march  to  Franklin,  a  few 
days  before  his  death,  Cleburne  halted  at  this  point,  and  In  one  of  the 
gentle  moods  of  the  man  Miat  sometimes  softened  the  mien  of  tho 
soldier,  gazed  a  moment  In  silence  iipon  the  scene,  and  turning  to 
some  members  of  his  staff  said,  'It  Is  almost  worth  dying  to  rest  in 
so  sweet  a  spot.' 

It  was  in  remembrance  of  these  words  that  their  suggestion  was 
carried  out  in  the  choice  of  his  burial-place.  In  this  cemetery  is  set  apart 
a  division  called  the  '  Bishops'  Corner.'  Here  were  buried  the  remains 
of  the  late  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Otey  of  Tennessee— here  are  to  be 
placed  the  ashes  of  the  heroic  bishop.  General  Leonidas  Polk,  and 
here  it  is  purposed  that  the  tombs  of  the  future  bishops  of  Tennessee 
shall  be  ranged  beside  these  illustrious  names.  In  this  spot,  where 
nature  has  lavished  her  wealth  of  grace  and  beauty,  in  ground  con- 
secrated by  the  dust  of  illustrious  patriots,  churchmen,  and  warriors— 
in  the  bosom  of  the  State  he  did  so  much  to  defend,  within  whose 
borders  he  first  guided  his  charging  lines  to  victory,  and  on  whoso 
soil  he  finally  yielded  to  the  cause  the  last  and  all  a  patriot  soldier 
can  give— rests  what  was  mortal  of  Patrick  Cleburne,  and  will  rest 


.  This  accent, 
of  exciteraeut 
J  to  refor  to 
f  a  ton  Hpoak- 
powern  of  wit 
! ;  but  his  wit, 
nirroundcd  h'xn 
arlied  liltirary 
M.  Indoud,  he 
I  and  with  no 
gments  of  bis 

army,  but  he 
ying  him  with 
ause,  of  whom 

high  integrity 
1  in  the  course 

the  world  in 
r  their  arms  to 

Franlvlin,  and 
ssoe,  the  most 
the  Tennessee, 
ill  in  the  same 
ranklin,  a  few 
1  in  one  of  the 
e  mien  of  the 
md  turning  to 
fing  to  rest  in 

mggestion  was 
lery  is  set  apart 
ed  the  remains 
ere  are  to  be 
das  Pollc.  and 
►3  of  Tennessee 
is  spot,  where 
n  ground  con- 
and  warriors— 
,  within  whose 
and  on  whoso 
patriot  soldier 
,  and  will  rest 


APPENDIX. 


MS 


nntll  his  adopted  State  nhall  claim  lila  ashofl,  and  raise  above  them 
monumental  lionourn  to  t!ie  virtues  of  her  truest  citizen,  her  noblest 
champion,  her  greatest  Holdier. 

Cleburne  had  often  expressed  the  hope  that  ho  might  not  suVvive 
the  independence  of  the  South.  Heaven  heard  the  prayer,  and  spared 
him  this  pang.  H(*  fell  before  the  banner  he  had  so  often  guided  to 
victory  was  furled— before  the  people  he  fought  for  were  crushed— 
before  the  cause  he  loved  was  lost. 

Two  continents  now  claim  his  name ;  eight  millions  of  pooplo 
revere  his  memory  ;  two  great  communities  raise  monuments  to  his 
virtues— and  history  will  take  up  his  fame,  and  hand  it  down  to  timo 
for  cxampllng,  wherever  a  courage  without  stain,  a  manhood  with- 
out blemish,  an  integrity  that  knew  no  compromise,  and  a  patriotiem 
that  withheld  no  sacriflce,  are  honoured  of  mankind. 

Sklma,  Alabama  :  May  1,  18G7. 


